Navy Office of Community Outreach
SASEBO, Japan – A Cleveland native and 2015 Shaker Heights High School graduate is serving in Japan in the U.S. Navy aboard one of the forward-deployed mine countermeasures ship, USS Chief.
Petty Officer 3rd Class Tylan Thompson is a quartermaster aboard the Avenger-class mine countermeasures ship, operating out of Sasebo, Japan. The ship routinely deploys to protect alliances, enhance partnerships, and be ready to respond if a natural disaster occurs in the region.
A Navy quartermaster is responsible to stand watch as assistants to officers of the deck and the navigator; serve as helmsman and perform ship control, navigation and bridge watch duties. QMs procure, correct, use and stow navigational and oceanographic publications and oceanographic charts. They maintain navigational instruments and keep correct navigational time.
Thompson is proud to serve in the Pacific and fondly recalls memories of Cleveland.
“Growing up I learned to treat everyone with respect and to give a good first impression when checking into your first command,” said Thompson.
Thompson’s greatest achievement, so far, is receiving a Navy Achievement Medal for 97 percent grade for the navigation department during The Board of Inspection and Survey.
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.
With a crew of more than 80, Chief is 224 feet long and weighs approximately 1,300 tons. Chief is one of the Navy’s 11 Avenger-class mine countermeasures ships that are designed to neutralize mines from vital waterways and harbors. There are four minesweeper in Sasebo as part of the forward-deployed mine countermeasures force that are on-call to respond in the event of a mine-clearing operation in the Indo-Pacific.
MCMs in Sasebo routinely operate with allies and partners to build mine countermeasures proficiency and sustain our alliances.
“Being on deployment is better than being stateside because it gives me the opportunity to use my skills and do my job,” said Thompson. “The Navy has given me so many opportunities to travel to different countries I thought I would never see and leadership qualities that I thought I never would develop.”
As a member of one of the U.S. Navy’s most relied-upon assets, Thompson 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 you have dedicated your time so that people back home can fulfill their dreams and desires,” said Thompson.
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.
A Navy quartermaster is responsible to stand watch as assistants to officers of the deck and the navigator; serve as helmsman and perform ship control, navigation and bridge watch duties. QMs procure, correct, use and stow navigational and oceanographic publications and oceanographic charts. They maintain navigational instruments and keep correct navigational time.
Thompson is proud to serve in the Pacific and fondly recalls memories of Cleveland.
“Growing up I learned to treat everyone with respect and to give a good first impression when checking into your first command,” said Thompson.
Thompson’s greatest achievement, so far, is receiving a Navy Achievement Medal for 97 percent grade for the navigation department during The Board of Inspection and Survey.
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.
With a crew of more than 80, Chief is 224 feet long and weighs approximately 1,300 tons. Chief is one of the Navy’s 11 Avenger-class mine countermeasures ships that are designed to neutralize mines from vital waterways and harbors. There are four minesweeper in Sasebo as part of the forward-deployed mine countermeasures force that are on-call to respond in the event of a mine-clearing operation in the Indo-Pacific.
MCMs in Sasebo routinely operate with allies and partners to build mine countermeasures proficiency and sustain our alliances.
“Being on deployment is better than being stateside because it gives me the opportunity to use my skills and do my job,” said Thompson. “The Navy has given me so many opportunities to travel to different countries I thought I would never see and leadership qualities that I thought I never would develop.”
As a member of one of the U.S. Navy’s most relied-upon assets, Thompson 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 you have dedicated your time so that people back home can fulfill their dreams and desires,” said Thompson.
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.