Photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Jackson G. Brown
NAVAL SUPPORT ACTIVITY BAHRAIN – Fireman Apprentice Nathanael Serna, a Redlands, California, native, has a proud family tradition of military service that led him to the Navy.
Now, a year later and half a world away at Naval Support Activity Bahrain, Serna serves aboard an avenger-class mine countermeasures ship (MCM), USS Devastator, tasked to search and dispose of enemy mines in the world’s most dynamic maritime region as the leading-edge of the Navy. “There is always work to be done here and it is very fast paced,” said Serna.
Serna, a 2016 graduate of Redlands East Valley High School, is an engineman aboard the Manama, Bahrain-based ship, one of four MCMs forward-deployed to the Arabian Gulf in the Navy’s U.S. 5th Fleet operating under Task Force 52.
“As an engineman, we are responsible for maintaining and operating the ship's main propulsion system, generators, air compressors, and controllable pitch propellor systems,” said Serna. “We keep the ship moving and keep the engines running.”
Task Force 52 plans and executes mine warfare operations in support of U.S. 5th Fleet’s operational objectives.
Serna credits success in the MCM force, and in the Navy, to many of the lessons learned in Redlands.
“My home taught me respect, humbleness and always having a hunger to become the best verison of myself,” said Serna.
USS Devastator is 224 feet long, 39 feet wide and weighs over 1,300 tons. Four diesel engines, designed to have very low magnetic and acoustic signatures, help push the ship through the water at 16 miles per hour.
As mines threaten maritime traffic indiscriminately, the U.S. and partner nations are committed to taking all action necessary to reduce the risk of mines to support the continuous free flow of commerce and freedom of navigation throughout the region. MCMs are outfitted with the means to detect and disable them, ensuring sea lanes remain open for military, commercial and civilian vessels. These ships use a variety of novel and conventional sweeping measures, including sonar and video systems, cable cutters and remote control mine-detonating devices.
The Navy’s mine countermeasures in the U.S. 5th Fleet are divided between three separate legs, consisting of airborne, surface and underwater methods. These consist of the MCMs such as USS Devastator, MH-53E Sea Dragon helicopters from Helicopter Mine Countermeasures Squadron (HM) 15, and unmanned underwater vehicles, as well as expeditionary explosive ordnance disposal teams. All three legs work together to hunt and neutralize mines.
The Navy’s U.S. 5th Fleet area of operations encompasses about 2.5 million square miles of ocean, and includes the Arabian Gulf, Gulf of Oman, Red Sea and parts of the Indian Ocean. This expanse, comprised of 20 countries, includes three critical choke points; the Strait of Hormuz, the Suez Canal and the Strait of Bab al Mandeb at the southern tip of Yemen.
“Seeing a part of the world that not many people back home get to see is a very unique thing about being stationed here,” said Serna.
Serving in the Navy means Serna is part of a 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.
A key element of the Navy the nation needs is tied to the fact that America is a maritime nation, and that the nation’s prosperity is tied to the ability to operate freely on the world’s oceans. More than 70 percent of the Earth’s surface is covered by water; 80 percent of the world’s population lives close to a coast; and 90 percent of all global trade by volume travels by sea.
“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.”
Though there are many ways for sailors to earn distinction in their command, community, and career, Serna is most proud of deploying four times with the ship in 2019.
“I have worked very hard to get here and enjoy my work,” said Serna.
As a member of one of the U.S. Navy’s most relied upon assets, Serna and other sailors know they are part of a legacy that will last beyond their lifetimes contributing to the Navy the nation needs
“Serving in the Navy means three things to me: humbling myself, working with a team and getting home safe after completing my misison,” said Serna.