Photo By Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class David Wyscaver
BREMERTON, Wash. – A Harlem, Georgia, native and 2014 Harlem High School graduate is serving aboard the aircraft carrier USS John C. Stennis, a floating airport at sea.
Fireman Anthony Dean is an electrician's mate serving aboard the carrier. A Navy electrician's mate is responsible for various load centers and generators on the ship and auxiliary systems.
“I'm new to the ship,” Dean said. “Right now I’m focused on training and qualifications, and I'm looking forward to becoming more useful.”
Approximately 3,200 men and women make up the crew of John C. Stennis, with an additional 2,000 sailors assigned to the ship’s embarked air wing, Carrier Air Wing 9.
Named in honor of former Senator John C. Stennis from Mississippi, 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.
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.
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.
Dean combines the lessons learned from both the Navy and Harlem to take personal responsibility in performing assigned tasks and leading others.
“I’ve learned hard work isn't always glamorous, but every time it's worth it,” said Dean.
As a member of one of the U.S. Navy’s most relied upon assets, Dean and other John C. Stennis sailors know they are part of a legacy that will last beyond their lifetimes providing the Navy the nation needs.
“I had a comfortable life back home, and this is my way of giving back,” Dean said.