By Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Robert Zahn, Navy Office of Community Outreach
SASEBO, Japan – An El Paso, Texas, native and 2013 Hanks High School graduate is serving in
Seaman Gina Alvarado is in the deck department aboard the amphibious assault ship operating out of Sasebo, Japan.
A Navy undesignated seaman is responsible for maintaining and preserving the exterior surfaces of the ship, handles deck machinery and equipment, handles mooring lines, handles cargo, operates small boats, and takes part in various evolutions such as search and rescue and underway replenishment.
“I learned to respect others from my parents as well as my community growing up,” said Alvarado. “The Navy is such a tight knit community that having respect helps establish a good platform to display myself to others.”
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.
As a member of one of the U.S. Navy’s most relied-upon assets, Alvarado and other sailors know they are part of a legacy that will last beyond their lifetimes providing the Navy the nation needs.
“Being deployed here you have to be prepared, ready, and focused because of our schedule,” said Alvarado. “Since joining the Navy I’ve become a better advocate for myself, I’m more disciplined.”
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.
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.