About 

My name is Anthony and this is my blog.

Hi everyone! My name is Anthony Bahn, I have over 21 years of Technology experience and am currently a VP at a Student Housing Company and the owner of https://anthonybahn.com. I wanted to share a little bit about myself so you can understand the person who is putting forth the articles on this site.

The beginning

I was born in the 80’s before many people had computers or the internet in everyone’s house. The first time I was introduced to a computer in elementary school was playing the Oregon Trail, I knew I was hooked. My passion for technology continued even in my teenage years. When joining the Navy when I was 16 the obvious choice was to join with a rate of Information Technician.

In the Navy

I was seventeen when I went to BootCamp for the Navy, after spending a year in the Delayed Entry Program (DEP). Bootcamp was super simple and I learned a great deal about myself and got in great shape.

After Bootcamp, I stayed in Great Lakes, IL for the Navy’s IT “A” school. There I learned all about the basics of computers from the OSI model to specific radio circuits. A few months later, I graduated towards the top of the class and was able to choose my first command.

It’s Not a Tug Boat

Finishing towards the top of the class gave me the chance to pick from a list of commands available to transfer to. When it was my turn I selected a command called Special Boat Unit 12 out of San Diego, California. The command was initially sold to me as a Tug Boat unit that didn’t travel, but that was far from the truth.

Showing up to the command I was surprised to find out that the command I was now with, was a special forces unit that supported the Navy Seals. They are staffed by the Special Warfare Craft Crewmembers (SWCC) members and serve as the primary watercraft operators and transportation for naval special warfare units worldwide.

During my time in the command, I was able to learn a lot about technology and they were nice enough to send me to several Microsoft Certificate training courses. I was the sole network administrator for 500 users, maintained the VIASAT network, and the Transas Network for the entire command. During my three years there I was able to grow as a person and take on more responsibility. I left the command with a Navy Achievement Medal and a lifetime of experiences.

Building – 11

After my first deployment to SBU-12 I was transferred to a training command to learn how to become a Navy Tactical Command Support System (NTCSS) administrator. This system was an old HP-UX based platform that got my foot in the door to learn the Global Combat Support Systems -Maritime platform. To put it simply this transfer opened the door to opportunities for me in the Navy.

Upon arrival to my new command a ship that was stationed at the Naval Base Point Loma called the USS Coronado – AGF11, also lovingly called building 11. It was a ship that was sold to me as one of the few that never goes on deployment because of its role as a Flagship for the Third Fleet. The ship in late 2003 was decommissioned and transferred to the Military Sealift Command and was scheduled for its first deployment in 2004.

The good thing was I was able to visit other countries such as Japan, the Philippines, and S. Korea. Furthermore, on a professional level, it provided me the opportunity to attend training to become a Network Security Vulnerability Technician.

Testing things out… in the civilian sector

After the deployment and all of the exciting opportunities that the Navy provided me with, I felt it was time to get out of the military in 2006 and explore the civilian sector. Two months before getting out of the military I was picked up by a company called King Technologies for the role of Systems Engineer.

Transitioning from the military was actually easier than I expected, as the new job was only an exit away from the base I was stationed on. Working as a Department of Defense (DoD) contractor for Space and Naval Warfare System Center (SPAWAR) in support of the Navy Command, Control, Communications, Computers, Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (C41SR) Systems. I know that sounds like a mouthful, in the military the more acronyms the better.

What that really translates into was almost a year in a large windowless laboratory working on testing and configuring the latest technologies at the time. A match made in heaven for a nerd like me. One of the justifications for my new job was that it would provide me with more opportunities to learn and gain experience.

Not FedEX

After a year of working for King Technologies, another opportunity in my life brought me to a company called X-Feds. I was initially hired to participate in the Technical Point of Contact team. It was an exciting time to work on the development portion of testing especially in regards to a custom BlackBerry Enterprise solution incorporating mailshadow services for the Commander of Naval Operations in 7th fleet.

After a year of working for X-Feds, the company won a bid for a contract for GCCS-M testing in the same building that I had worked in previously. Excited at the opportunity, I jumped at the chance of working as the lead testing engineer for the GCCS-M Beta environment.

I helped design, develop and demonstrate a new more efficient deployment of the GCCS-M systems on a virtualized investment reducing the footprint of the system without losing any of the capabilities. This was the first time I stepped up in a position that had huge visibility, and it felt amazing!

Impressed with my participation in the testing facility, I was promoted to the ISNS Development (DT) Engineer for the Systems Qualification Testing. I was able to travel to different ships and run testing the latest tests on every platform that the USN had in place.

Howdy Texas

After 10 years of living and working in San Diego, it was time in my life to start in a new state. After some research, I chose Houston, Texas for more than a few reasons.

I decided that focusing on completing my College Education and working for a startup company named Dousic Entertainment was a good way to progress in my career as well as looking for new opportunities in the Houston area.

I learned quickly that success with a startup is hard to come by, and it was time for me to put on my big boy pants and get a new job.

From Testing state-of-the-art technology to running cable…

After a short amount of time searching, I found a great opportunity working with a great guy named Eric Kuhn for Kuhn Digital as an Independent Contractor. This was my first real work in Houston, and I got to learn a whole different side of Technology.

This company did everything from running cable to providing top to bottom support for companies that are small. I learned a lot from this position and it led me to the next steps in my career.

Becoming an Asset…

After a few years working for Kuhn Digital, one of the companies that we did technical support for really liked what I did and decided to extend an offer. I gladly accepted this and started working for a company named Asset Plus Corp.

I had spent a total of 10 years working for Asset Plus Corp / Asset Living as the director of technology. It was a great company to work for and I learned a lot from all of the people there. More importantly, the job allowed me to create a team atmosphere where we can better serve our clients.

It would be an understatement if I said that I was blessed with some amazing opportunities in my life. One of those came up while I was the Director of IT for this company and that was in the form of my current role.

Big leagues

That leads me to where I am now, working for a great company, Campus Living Villages. This is an amazing opportunity where I oversee all of the technology operations for the US sector. I am excited to work for this company and to share my love of technology to those who view my site.

Thank you so much for reading this if you made it this far, please feel free to follow me on social media.

Friends of the Blog

Here is an excerpt from her site:

Hi, my name is Courtney and you’ve stumbled upon the most procrastinated blog – it’s taken me 2+ years to get my words into the universe. Also, an incredibly supportive husband that shows me lighting and cameras and my friends that say, “just do it, you need to!” It’s also taken me losing my job as well to finally throw my arms up in the air screaming to said universe, “OK I GET IT!!! Thanks for the millionth sign!”