SASEBO, Japan – A Manvel, Texas, native and 2009 Vinemont High School graduate is serving in the U.S. Navy with the forward-deployed unit, Naval Beach Unit 7.
Petty Officer 1st Class Christopher Marcial is an operations specialist operating in Sasebo, Japan.
A Navy operations specialist is responsible for functioning as plotters, radio-telephone and Command and Control sound-powered telephone talkers and maintaining Combat Information Center (CIC) displays of strategic and tactical information.
“I love working with landing craft air cushion crafts," said Marcial. "I love what they can do what they are capable of and what they can carry.”
Becoming an LCAC navigator is Marcial’s greatest accomplishment on this tour.
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.
“I love being forward deployed because of the operations tempo,” said Marcial. “The Navy has taught me leadership, responsibility, and independence.”
As a member of one of the U.S. Navy’s most relied-upon assets, Marcial 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 is a way to improve your life, makes you a better person, and is a great career choice,” said Marcial.
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.