U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Rusty Pang
PEARL HARBOR – There’s a U.S. Navy ship unlike most floating in the waters of Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam. It's a Navy warship that honors the name of a female who has set the standard of excellence for those who have followed.
Petty Officer 2nd Class Kiana Marie Sun has served in the Navy for four years and works as a Navy information systems techinician, serving aboard the Pearl Harbor-based guided-missile destroyer.
Sun credits success in the Navy to many of the lessons learned in Kunia.
“I learned to share 'Aloha', which means to be accepting of everyone's differences,” said Sun. “Hawaii is definitely a mixed pot, you have to treat everyone with respect. I feel everyone was raised differently, but even if I don't understand it, I can still respect them.”
The sailors’ jobs aboard USS Hopper are highly specialized, requiring dedication and skill. The jobs range from maintaining engines to handling weaponry along with a multitude of other assignments keeping the ship mission-ready at all times.
As a Navy information systems techinician, Sun is responsible for maintaining and operating the ship's computer network.
Though there are many ways for sailors to earn distinction in their command, community, and career, Sun is most proud of successfully completing three back to back deployments in the Pacific.
“I’m proud because deployments are physically, mentally and emotionally challenging,” said Sun. “I got through them with the help of my shipmates in the ‘radio shack’ department. They were a great support system.”
More than 300 sailors serve aboard the ship named for the pioneering computer scientist who served in the Navy for 43 years.
Though Rear Adm. Hopper joined the Naval Reserves in 1943 after being an associate professor of mathematics at Vassar College, retired from the Naval Reserve with the rank of commander at the end of 1966. She was recalled to active duty in August 1967 for a six-month period that turned into an indefinite assignment. From 1967 to 1977, Hopper served as the director of the Navy Programming Languages Group in the Navy's Office of Information Systems Planning and was promoted to the rank of captain in 1973. Hopper was promoted to commodore by special Presidential appointment in 1983. In 1985, the rank of commodore was renamed rear admiral lower half. She retired from the Navy on August 14, 1986. Owing to the breadth of her accomplishments and her naval rank, she is sometimes referred to as "Amazing Grace."
“Being an information systems technician aboard USS Hopper is really cool,” said Sun. “We didn't have a lot of women's rights back when Rear Adm. Hopper was serving in the Navy and to now have a ship named after her is really awesome. I'm extremely honored to serve onboard, not a lot of people can say that. A lot of women feel they’re segregated because of their gender, but aboard Hopper I don't feel segregated because of my gender at all. I don't ever feel like I am being treated differently and that's a great feeling."
Navy guided-missile destroyers are multi-mission ships, equipped with tomahawk missiles, torpedoes, guns and a phalanx close-in weapons systems, that can operate independently or as part of a larger group of ships at sea.
Being stationed in Pearl Harbor, often referred to as the gateway to the Pacific in defense circles, means Sun is serving in a part of the world that is taking on new importance in America’s focus on rebuilding military readiness, strengthening alliances, and reforming business practices in support of the National Defense Strategy.
“Our priorities center on people, capabilities and processes, and will be achieved by our focus on speed, value, results and partnerships,” said Secretary of the Navy Richard V. Spencer. “Readiness, lethality and modernization are the requirements driving these priorities.”
The Pacific is home to more than 50 percent of the world's population, many of the world's largest and smallest economies, several of the world's largest militaries, and many U.S. allies. The Navy has been pivotal in helping maintain peace and stability in the Pacific region for decades.
Serving in the Navy is a continuing tradition of military service for Sun, who has military ties with family members who have previously served. Sun is honored to carry on that family tradition.
“My dad served in Navy straight out of the Philippines and advanced to the rank of chief petty officer,” said Sun. “He served 24 years and always taught me that you get what you give and to always have good judgement of character.”
As a member of one of the U.S. Navy’s most relied-upon assets, Sun and other sailors know they are part of a legacy that will last beyond their lifetimes providing the Navy the nation needs.
"To me, serving in the Navy feels like it gives me something to prove and a lot of people didn’t think I would make it this far," added Sun. "I’ve really appreciated all the challenges the Navy has given me to make me a stronger person.”