By Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Theodore Quintana, Navy Office of Community Outreach
SASEBO, Japan – A Gurnee, Illinois, native and 2013 Round Lake Beach High School graduate is serving in the U.S. Navy forward-deployed in Japan aboard USS Germantown.
Petty Officer 3rd Class Daisy Stewart is a culinary specialist aboard the ship operating out of Sasebo, Japan.
A Navy culinary specialist is responsible for operating and managing Navy messes and living quarters established to subsist and accommodate Navy personnel.
Stewart is proud to serve in the Pacific and fondly recalls memories of Gurnee.
“Being from such a small town, it made me want to go out and explore the world,” said Stewart.
Stewart thus far has received Blue Jacket of the Quarter, Outstanding Volunteer service, and Petty Officer 3rd Class.
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.
“It's amazing being forward deployed because we get to learn the Japanese culture and explore the world,” said Stewart. “The Navy has helped me be more patient, more hard working, and more confident.”
As a member of one of the U.S. Navy’s most relied-upon assets, Stewart and other sailors know they are part of a legacy that will last beyond their lifetimes providing the Navy the nation needs.
“Serving in the Navy means being confident knowing that I have a stable career and I get to serve my country,” said Stewart.
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.