By Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Robert Zahn, Navy Office of Community Outreach
SASEBO, Japan – A Cresaptown, Maryland, native and 2013 Allegany High School graduate is serving in Japan in the U.S. Navy aboard USS Germantown.
Petty Officer 2nd Class Christopher Daum is a hull maintenance technician aboard the ship operating out of Sasebo, Japan.
A Navy hull maintenance technician is responsible for installing, maintaining, and repairing valves, piping, plumbing systems, and marine sanitation systems and repair decks, structures, and hulls, examine welds, and fabricate metal.
Daum is proud to serve in the Pacific and fondly recalls memories of Cresaptown.
“My father was a hull maintenance technician in the Navy. I learned a lot about my job from him before the Navy,” said Daum. “I love my job in the Navy.”
Daum thus far has received a Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal for his work on various repairs of water tight doors and ready service lockers. He worked many long hours and many days welding in the heat of the summer. He was recognized by the captain for his dedication to his work. What he does contributes to the overall mission.
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 Sasebo is part of that long-standing commitment, explained Navy officials.
Commissioned in 1986, Germantown is the second Navy ship named after the Revolutionary War Battle of Germantown. With a crew of more than 900 sailors and Marines, Germantown is 609 feet long and weighs approximately 16,000 tons. Designed specifically to operate landing craft air cushion small craft vessels, Whidbey Island-class dock landing ships have the largest capacity for these landing craft out of any U.S. Navy amphibious ship.
“With my job the work can get stressful. Sometimes we have stringent long hours working all day for months,” said Daum. “I try to do my part on the ship. It’s good to know I’m needed. The Navy has taught me patience and the meaning of hard work. At the end of the day, you can't just quit the job, you have to figure out how to get the job done.”
As a member of one of the U.S. Navy’s most relied-upon assets, Daum and other sailors know they are part of a legacy that will last beyond their lifetimes providing the Navy the nation needs.
“I enjoy the people I work with here at this command,” said Daum. “We work well together. We are good at what we do. I get to learn something from them every day.”
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.
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.