By Mass Communication
Specialist 1st Class Tim Miller, Navy Office of Community Outreach
Photo By Senior Chief Petty
Officer Gary Ward
YOKOSUKA, Japan – A Danville,
Virginia native and 2004 George Washington High School
graduate is serving in the U.S. Navy aboard the guided missile cruiser, USS Antietam.
Chief Petty Officer (select)
Byron Clark is an electronics 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.
Navy electronics technicians
maintain, repair, and calibrate all electronic equipment used for communications,
detection tracking, identification, and navigation.
“Growing up I learned to never
forget where you came from, and to always use common sense,” said Clark. “I try to remember these thoughts every
day as an electronics technician.
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 dad served in the Navy as
a boatswain's mate and always said that the Navy taught him his morals and he
received a lot of his success in life directly from the Navy,” said Clark. “I'm
proud that I just made chief select and was recently awarded Senior Sailor of
the Quarter. I love mentoring other sailors, passing the knowledge and helping
them improve their job skills.”
Sailors serving abroad in Japan are highly motivated and
quickly adapt to changing conditions, explained Navy officials.
“Serving in the Navy means
being able to give back," added Clark. "I'm a patriotic person who loves serving my country. I
wouldn't change anything.”
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.