by Jackie Nunnery
WARSAW—Like any repair shop, this one is busy with the sound of tools and troubleshooting. Unlike your typical garage though, this one is part of the Northern Neck Technical Center (NNTC) in Warsaw, where students are hard at work fixing an array of machinery.
Students come from the counties of Richmond, Northumberland, Lancaster, Westmoreland and Essex as well as the Town of Colonial Beach. Supervising them “heavily” is instructor Jeff Brann. “One, from a safety standpoint,” he said. “Two, to make sure they’re using their hand tools properly and three, to ensure that we’re providing a product to the customers who bring their stuff to the tech center—something that is quality and will be safe for them to use out in the field. But all work is conducted by the students.”
Brann was a machinery technician in the U.S. Coast Guard for 23 years, retiring as a chief warrant officer. “If I was a young person, I’d still be in,” he said. Brann, like many repair professionals, has many of the same certifications that students will receive, along with high school credits, by completing the two courses—Marine Service Technology and Small Engine Technology.
Incoming juniors begin with Marine Service Technology. “They go through a basic introduction to….
