Born in November 1965 in Jacksonville, Florida, Suzanne Dubberly Speight enlisted in the Navy on Feb. 3, 1986, three years after graduating from Sandalwood High School. Following bootcamp at Recruit Training Command in Orlando, Florida, her first duty station was aboard the USS Prairie (AD-15).
Speight’s entered the Naval Reserve on Feb. 1, 1991, with the Naval Broadcasting and Television Center in Bermuda. On Veterans Day, Nov. 11, 1992, she met her husband, Daniel, who proposed exactly two years later. They were married 27 years, four years longer than the time she served in active and reserve service.
During Operation Iraqi Freedom, Speight deployed with the First Marine Expeditionary Force, Engineering Group, to Camp Fallujah, Iraq, from October 2004 to March 2005. There, she made sure to not just do her job telling the Navy’s story as a war correspondent, but to also visit with injured Seabees (The United States Naval Construction Battalions, who provided tactical construction support in Iraq), Marines and soldiers at Bravo Surgical in order to hear their stories.
Speight was like a grandmother to the children she encountered in Fallujah and continued making a difference in lives back home in many roles after her service, including as a Big Sister and volunteer with local churches and homeless shelters. In addition to helping others over the years, she also pursued a resolution to the tragic murder of her mother, when Speight was 15, even going on a TV show featuring cold cases in 2015.
After retiring from the Naval Reserve with the rank of Mass Communications Specialist Chief Petty Officer in 2009, Speight worked for the Navy Region Southeast (NRSE) as a community relations specialist. She also joined the Broward Navy Days board because she loved working on Fleet Week.
Over more than a decade in her position as part of the NRSE, Speight coordinated public affairs for Fleet Week Port Everglades. Her work showcasing the Navy and NRSE voices earned her the Commander, NRSE Junior Civilian of the Second Quarter 2015 award.
Speight retired from federal service at the NRSE in January 2022. She died in May 2022 after a 15-year battle with lung cancer from burn pit exposure in Fallujah. She was 56.
We honor her service.
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Writer: Michelle A. Shade
Editor: Ethan Oleson
Researcher: Jacoryn Whatley
Graphic Designer: Kiki Kelley
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How wonderful to honor such an amazing person! She was beautiful both inside and out. Thank you for sharing her story!