By Mass
Communication Specialist 2nd Class Theodore Quintana, Navy Office of Community Outreach
YOKOSUKA, Japan- A Seymour, Connecticut, native and 2010 Seymour High School
graduate is serving in the U.S. Navy aboard the aircraft carrier USS Ronald
Reagan.
Petty Officer 3rd Class Stephanie Walsh is an interior
communications electrician aboard the aircraft carrier operating
out of
Yokosuka, Japan.
A Navy
interior communications electrician operates and performs organizational and
intermediate maintenance on ship’s alarms, indicator systems, interior
communications, entertainment, and navigation systems.
Walsh is proud to
serve in the Pacific and fondly recalls memories of Seymour.
“I was taught to be a leader, and no matter where I am in the
world, I still bleed blue and gold,” said Walsh.
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.
“Serving in Japan is exciting and I appreciate the hard work that we have
to do each day,” said Walsh.
Walsh is also proud of becoming the newest member of the
SITE TV team as she continues to work hard and excel in her job.
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, Walsh and other sailors know they are part of a legacy that will last
beyond their lifetimes providing the Navy the nation needs.
"I've learned that no job is
beneath me or too complicated for me," said Walsh. "I've done humbling and rewarding work.”
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.