Not only are Angel West and Crystal Taylor first-time ombudsman but they are also sharing the duties of Ombudsman Assembly co-chairs at Center for Surface Combat Systems Unit (CSCSU) and at Training Support Center (TSC). Both are enthusiastic about their new position.
    “I became an ombudsman because I wanted an opportunity to serve and share my life experiences,” West said. “I wanted a chance to make a difference,”
    West is co-ombudsman, along with Christy Goins, at Center for Surface Combat Systems Unit (CSCSU), where her husband, MM1(SW) David West is the only mineman onboard naval station. She was born in Hawaii and raised in North Carolina. Her father was a Marine, as was her husband for the first four years of his military service.
    The couple came to Great Lakes from San Diego in May with their children Josh, 13 and Mikaela, 11. Their daughter Tara, 25, lives in Florida, and they have two granddaughters.
    West, who home schools her children, said the arrangement works out well.
    What influenced Taylor to become an ombudsman was the performance of the ombudsman at her husband’s last command, Abraham Lincoln (CVN-72) which was home-ported in Everette, Wash.