By Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Theodore Quintana, Navy Office of Community Outreach
SASEBO, Japan – – A Stockton, California, native and 2014 Jane Frederick High School graduate is serving in Japan in the U.S. Navy aboard one of the forward-deployed mine countermeasures ship, USS Patriot.
Fireman Recruit Faizon Lowe-Potter is a damage controlman 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 damage controlman is responsible for performing organizational and intermediate level maintenance and repairing of damage control equipment and systems.
Lowe-Potter is proud to serve in the Pacific and fondly recalls memories of Stockton.
“Growing up in Stockton I learned not to follow the wrong people, I associate myself with the people in Navy who can teach me the things to further my career,” said Lowe-Potter.
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, Patriot is 224 feet long and weighs approximately 1,300 tons. Patriot 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 forward deployed is exciting to know that if anything goes down we are the first people to the action and fight,” said Lowe-Potter. “The Navy has made me a lot stronger than I was before I can take a lot more work at one time. It's easier to adjust to new people now.”
As a member of one of the U.S. Navy’s most relied-upon assets, Lowe-Potter 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 that I get to make my family proud and I get to give the younger ones in my family something to look up to,” said Lowe-Potter.
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 damage controlman is responsible for performing organizational and intermediate level maintenance and repairing of damage control equipment and systems.
Lowe-Potter is proud to serve in the Pacific and fondly recalls memories of Stockton.
“Growing up in Stockton I learned not to follow the wrong people, I associate myself with the people in Navy who can teach me the things to further my career,” said Lowe-Potter.
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, Patriot is 224 feet long and weighs approximately 1,300 tons. Patriot 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 forward deployed is exciting to know that if anything goes down we are the first people to the action and fight,” said Lowe-Potter. “The Navy has made me a lot stronger than I was before I can take a lot more work at one time. It's easier to adjust to new people now.”
As a member of one of the U.S. Navy’s most relied-upon assets, Lowe-Potter 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 that I get to make my family proud and I get to give the younger ones in my family something to look up to,” said Lowe-Potter.
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.