Photo By Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class David Wyscaver
BREMERTON, Wash. – A Las Vegas native and 2011 Escuella De Sophia of Caloocan Incorporated graduate is serving aboard the aircraft carrier USS John C. Stennis, a floating airport at sea.
Petty Officer 3rd Class James Bien is a culinary specialist serving aboard the carrier. A Navy culinary specialist is responsible for feeding the crew with well-balanced, nutritious meals.
“I supervise the junior culinary specialists and help familiarize them with the galley,” Bien said. "I help them grow, and I help them be successful."
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.
Bien combines the lessons learned from both the Navy and Las Vegas to take personal responsibility in performing assigned tasks and leading others.
“My family taught me the importance of being great,” said Bien. "Doing your best is paramount, because if you do your best, you can never fail."
As a member of one of the U.S. Navy’s most relied upon assets, Bien 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.
“Serving in the Navy gives me the chance to protect my country and serve my family,” said Bien.