By
Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Robert
Zahn, Navy Office of Community Outreach
Photo
by Senior Chief Petty Officer Gary Ward
YOKOSUKA, Japan – A Bremerton, Washington native and 2012 Prescott High School graduate
is serving in the U.S. Navy aboard the guided missile destroyer, USS Curtis Wilbur.
Seaman Hanna Motz is a quartermaster aboard
the forward-deployed Arleigh Burke-class guided missile destroyer operating out
of Yokosuka, Japan. Curtis Wilbur is one
of eight destroyers forward-deployed in Yokosuka.
A Navy quartermaster stands
watch as assistants to officers of the deck and to the navigator aboard the
ship. They serve as helmsman, perform ship control, navigate waterways, and
stand bridge watch duties. They render "honors and
ceremonies" in accordance with national observance and foreign customs,
send and receive visual messages, and serve as petty officers in charge of
small craft.
“I learned from my family
at a young age to work hard and always be persistent,” said Motz. “This has helped me succeed in the Navy.”
With more than 50 percent of
the world's shipping tonnage and a third of the world's crude oil passing
through the region, the U.S. has historic and enduring interests in this part
of the world.
"Our alliance is rooted in
shared interests and shared values," said Adm. Harry Harris, Commander, U.S. Pacific
Command. "It's not hyperbole to say that the entire world has
benefited from the U.S.-Japan alliance. While our alliance helped stabilize the
region after the Second World War, it also enabled the Japanese people to bring
about an era of unprecedented economic growth. And for the last six decades,
our Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen, Marines and Coast Guardsmen have worked side by
side with the Japan Self Defense Force to protect and advance peace and
freedom."
Approximately 300 men and
women serve aboard the ship. Their jobs are highly specialized and keep each
part of the ship running smoothly, according to Navy officials. They do
everything from maintaining gas turbine engines and operating the highly
sophisticated Aegis weapons system to driving the ship and operating small
boats.
Forward-deployed sailors
are crucial to the success of the global Navy mission and earn high praise from
their leaders.
“My dad served in the Navy
and I saw how he carried himself and realized that joining the Navy is what I really
wanted to do,”
said Motz. “I enjoy being stationed
here in Japan because I enjoy experiencing a foreign country on my own."
Sailors serving abroad in
Japan are highly motivated and quickly adapt to changing conditions, explained
Navy officials.
“What serving in the Navy
means to me is making my parents proud and succeeding in life,” added Motz.
With the ability to
conduct anti-air warfare, anti-submarine warfare and anti-surface warfare,
destroyers are capable of sustained maritime operations supporting forward
naval presence, maritime security, sea control, deterrence of aggressive
actions on U.S. partners around the globe, as well as humanitarian
assistance. Fast, maneuverable, and technically advanced,
destroyers provide credible combat power, at and from the sea.