By Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Robert Zahn, Navy Office of Community Outreach
SASEBO, Japan – A Green Brook, New Jersey, native and 2016 Thomas Jefferson Arts Academy graduate is serving in Japan in the U.S. Navy aboard USS Germantown.
Fireman Antonio Rodriguez is an engineman aboard the ship operating out of Sasebo, Japan.
A Navy engineman is responsible for operating, maintaining, and repairing internal-combustion engines, main propulsion machinery, refrigeration, air conditioning, gas turbine engines, and assigned auxiliary equipment on Navy ships; stand safety watches on auxiliary boilers and other assigned equipment.
Rodriguez is proud to serve in the Pacific and fondly recalls memories of Green Brook.
“My photography teacher in high school told me to know my path and where I’m headed depends on me and how hard I work,” said Rodriguez.
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.
“Being deployed here is definitely an eye opener to me, this is first time out of the states, it’s a culture shock,” said Rodriguez. “But the Japanese people are very generous and nice, they show a lot of respect for others.”
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.
“The Navy has changed my life in many ways," said Rodriquez. "One of the biggest things is that the Navy has made me manage my time better. I’ve learned to just wake up and be a responsible adult. Here you can't just call out of work and not come. You have to get up every day and do your work. But if you think about it, this is how work should always be, you show up, follow the rules, and do your best. Now I realize that I’m prepared for life because of the work ethic I learned here.”
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.