Photo By Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class David Wyscaver
BREMERTON, Wash. – A Tagbilaran, Philippines, native and 2009 Dr. Cecilio Butong High School graduate is serving aboard the aircraft carrier USS John C. Stennis, a floating airport at sea.
Petty Officer 2nd Class Louie Adem is a personnel specialist serving aboard the carrier. A Navy personnel specialist is responsible for handling the administrative aspects of sailors on the ship, from updating dependency data to processing pay.
“I'm a separations clerk, so I work with people separating from the Navy,” said Adem. "I handle a lot of retirements and resignations from officers as well."
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.
Adem combines the lessons learned from both the Navy and Tagbilaran to take personal responsibility in performing assigned tasks and leading others.
“Hard work and determination will never betray you, I learned that growing up,” said Adem.
As a member of one of the U.S. Navy’s most relied upon assets, Adem 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 opportunity to take care of sailors, and it gives me a sense of pride to help them out,” said Adem.