SASEBO, Japan – An Elizabeth City, North Carolina, native and 2016 Pasquotank County High School graduate is serving in the U.S. Navy with the forward-deployed unit, Naval Beach Unit 7.
Seaman Ethan Ives is a boatswain's mate operating forward in Sasebo, Japan.
A Navy boatswain's mate is responsible for maintaining the exterior surfaces of the ships, deck handling and equipment, handling cargo and operating small boats.
Ives is proud to serve in the Pacific and fondly recalls memories of Elizabeth City.
“Growing up I learned to listen to what other people have to say, pay attention to what’s going on around you,” said Ives.
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 August of 2012, Naval Beach Unit 7 was formed to combine the three forward deployed naval forces detachments in Japan.
Personnel from the command are responsible manning and operating either the landing craft—such as the landing craft air cushion or the landing craft utility—or manage landing operations from the beach.
NBU 7 landing craft serve an important function for the Amphibious Force 7th Fleet in being able to move personnel and equipment from ship to shore.
“It's nice being in a different country getting to see different things, meet new people, exploring different areas and learning new stuff,” said Ives.
As a member of one of the U.S. Navy’s most relied-upon assets, Ives and other sailors know they are part of a legacy that will last beyond their lifetimes providing the Navy the nation needs.
“The Navy teaches you more about discipline and respect, respecting peers, respecting mentors, people that are higher rank than you,” said Ives. “Serving in the Navy means that I have taken the steps from ever since I was younger I wanted to see the world. My dad did 20 years in the Navy. I feel proud and honored doing the things he did and seeing new things and meeting new people who I call my new family.”
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.