YOKOSUKA – A Ponce, Puerto Rico, native and 2003 Jardines De Ponce High School graduate is serving in the U.S. Navy forward-deployed aboard the guided missile destroyer, USS Curtis Wilbur.
Chief Petty Officer Armando Rodriguez is a machinist’s mate aboard the Arleigh Burke-class guided missile destroyer operating out of Yokosuka, Japan. The ship routinely deploys to protect alliances, enhance partnerships, and be ready to respond if a natural disaster occurs in the region.
A Navy machinist’s mate is responsible for operating and maintaining steam turbines and reduction gears used for ship propulsion and auxiliary machinery.
Rodriguez is proud to serve in the Pacific and fondly recalls memories of Ponce.
“In Puerto Rico they always emphasized striving for better and pushing for success,” said Rodriguez. “I always try to give the best of me everyday for myself and for my sailors.”
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.
“It’s exciting being forward deployed because of the optempo and what is required from us day in and day out,” said Rodriguez.
Rodriguez is also proud of advancing to the rank of chief petty officer.
Destroyers are warships that provide multi-mission offensive and defensive capabilities. They are 510 feet long and armed with tomahawk land-attack cruise missiles, Standard Missile-3 and newer variants of the SM missile family, advanced gun systems and close-in gun systems. Destroyers are deployed globally and can operate independently or as part of carrier strike groups, surface action groups, or amphibious readiness groups. Their presence helps the Navy control the sea. Sea control is the precondition for everything else the Navy does. It cannot project power, secure the commons, deter aggression, or assure allies without the ability to control the seas when and where desired.
Curtis Wilbur has anti-aircraft capability armed with long range missiles intended for air defense to counter the threat to friendly forces posed by manned aircraft, anti-ship, cruise and tactical ballistic missiles.
As a member of one of the U.S. Navy’s most relied-upon assets, Rodriguez and other sailors know they are part of a legacy that will last beyond their lifetimes providing the Navy the nation needs.
"I’m thankful for serving in the Navy, I don’t know what I would have done otherwise,” said Rodriguez. "It opened the doors for my family and myself and built me into the person I am today. Serving in the Navy has provided happiness for my family and is the foundation that I built for myself.”
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.