Earle, whose mother still lives in Batavia, is currently serving in sonar aboard the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower in the Afghanistan theater. He called The Batavian today for an exclusive interview, at the request of U.S. Navy public relations personnel, to talk about his career.

We recorded the interview and you can listen here.

Earle said his two-decades-plus in the Navy have been great, but not without hardship. It's tough being away from his wife and two children, he said. Fortunately, long deployments are not common.

He's seen the world, too, and spent many years stationed in San Diego and Long Beach.

"I used to say that I missed the snow," Earle said. "And then moving back there for two-and-half years, I would say 'do I really miss the snow?'  I do miss the small town atmosphere. I've been at bases around large cities and San Diego was a great place and everything, but it never rained enough and the size of the town, I just sort of missed the small town atmosphere."