By Mass
Communication Specialist 1st Class Robert Zahn, Navy Office of Community
Outreach
YOKOSUKA, Japan- A Houston native and 2014 Cypress Creek High School graduate is serving
in the U.S. Navy aboard the aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan.
Petty Officer 3rd Class Travis Gaines is a culinary specialist
aboard the aircraft carrier operating out of Yokosuka, Japan.
A Navy culinary specialist
is responsible for operating kitchen and dining facilities, budgeting for food
service management, and ensuring morale aboard the ship.
Gaines is proud to
serve in the Pacific and fondly recalls memories of Houston.
“My dad taught me to be humble and remember who you are and
where you came from,” said Gaines.
Moments like that makes it worth serving around the world
ready at all times to defend America’s interests. 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. The Navy's
presence in Yokosuka is part of that long-standing commitment, explained Navy officials.
Named in honor of former President Ronald
Reagan, the carrier is longer than three football fields, measuring nearly
1,100 feet. The ship, a true floating
city, weighs more than 100,000 tons and has a flight deck that is 252 feet
wide. Two nuclear reactors can push the
ship through the water at more than 35 mph.
Powerful catapults slingshot the aircraft off the bow of the
ship. The planes land aboard the carrier by snagging a steel cable with an
arresting hook that protrudes from the rear of the aircraft.
“It can be demanding being deployed here but beneficial,”
said Gaines. “If you are forward-deployed here then you can handle any
situation in the Navy.”
Gaines is also proud of being a part of the Blue Jacket Academy. This gives him the chance to help himself succeed in his Navy career
as well as mentoring fellow sailors.
Sailors’ jobs are highly varied aboard the
carrier. Approximately 3,200 men and women make up the ship's crew, which keeps
all parts of the aircraft carrier running smoothly -- this includes everything
from washing dishes and preparing meals to handling weaponry and maintaining
the nuclear reactors. Another 2,500 men and women form the air wing responsible
for flying and maintaining more than 70 aircraft aboard the ship.
Ronald Reagan, like each of the Navy’s aircraft
carriers, is designed for a 50-year service life. When the air wing is
embarked, the ship carries more than 70 attack jets, helicopters and other
aircraft, all of which take off from and land aboard the carrier at sea.
As a member of one of the U.S. Navy’s most relied-upon
assets, Gaines and other sailors know they are part of a legacy that will last
beyond their lifetimes providing the Navy the nation needs.
"Since being deployed here I’ve taken more pride in
myself,” said Gaines. “I have met a lot of friends who’ve become like family
who help me when things get rough.”
Seventh Fleet, which is celebrating its 75th year in 2018,
spans more than 124 million square kilometers, stretching from the
International Date Line to the India/Pakistan border; and from the Kuril
Islands in the North to the Antarctic in the South. Seventh Fleet's area of
operation encompasses 36 maritime countries and 50 percent of the world’s
population with between 50-70 U.S. ships and submarines, 140 aircraft, and
approximately 20,000 Sailors in the 7th Fleet.