By Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Robert Zahn, Navy Office of Community Outreach
Photo By Senior Chief Petty Officer Gary Ward
YOKOSUKA, Japan – A Dallas, Texas native and 1995 Richland High School graduate is serving in the U.S. Navy aboard the guided missile cruiser, USS Antietam.
Petty Officer 1st Class James Avery is a hull maintenance technician aboard the forward deployed Ticonderoga-class guided missile cruiser operating out of Yokosuka, Japan. Antietam is one of three cruisers forward-deployed in Yokosuka.
A Navy hull maintenance technician installs, maintains, and repairs valves, piping, plumbing systems, and marine sanitation systems and repair decks, structures, and hulls, examine welds, and fabricate metal.
“My parents had a very strong work ethic because my dad was always working and mom went to school, this showed me always to work hard and to be persistent,” said Avery.
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 United States 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 cruiser 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 younger brother and I wanted to join the Navy at about the same time so we both influenced each other in joining the Navy and this gave both of us pride serving with each other,” said Avery. “The accomplishments that I feel like I have is that I’m able to care for a ship that is 30 years old because things keep breaking and maintenance always needs to be done. I like to know that the work I do makes the ship deployment ready.
Sailors serving abroad in Japan are highly motivated and quickly adapt to changing conditions, explained Navy officials.
“Serving in the Navy provides me with a good secure job and future and that’s something worth fighting for,” added Avery.
A Navy cruiser is a multi-mission ship that can operate independently or as part of a larger group of ships at sea. The ship is equipped with a vertical launching system, tomahawk missiles, torpedoes, guns, and a phalanx close-in weapons system.
Sailors play a vital role in the overall military mission around the world.
"The U.S.-Japan alliance remains the cornerstone for peace and stability in the Indo-Asia-Pacific region," said Harris.