YOKOSUKA, Japan – Petty Officer 3rd Class Drew Metcalfe, a native of Mercersburg, Pennsylvania, said small town life left him dreaming of travel, with “ambitions of seeing the world and looking for something a little bit bigger.”
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| Photo by Senior Chief Petty Officer Gary Ward |
“It's difficult, but it's also fulfilling,” he said. “You get so exhausted in your job, but when you pull into ports, there's such a sense of fulfillment about everything you learned.”
Metcalfe, a 2017 graduate of James Buchanan High School, is a quartermaster aboard the Yokosuka, Japan-based ship, one of three cruisers forward-deployed to the region.
“I work on maintaining the pilot house, the top of the ship where we steer and navigate," said Metcalfe. "It's a lot of paperwork and charts, just maintaining everything associated with navigation.”
Metcalfe credits part of his success in the Navy to lessons learned in Mercersburg.
“I had a restaurant boss who taught me a lot of military lessons, but the most important one was to keep course toward your goals and ambitions," said Metcalfe. "No goal is too big. You can achieve it.”
U.S. 7th Fleet 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. U.S. 7th Fleet's area of operations 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.
“The culture is so different, it's shocking how different it is,” Metcalfe said. “After you get used to it, it feels almost like a second home, like you belong here.”
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 Yokosuka is part of that long-standing commitment.
"The Navy is forward-deployed to provide security and strengthen relationships in a free and open Indo-Pacific. It's not just the ships and aircraft that have shown up to prevent conflict and promote peace," said Vice Adm. Phil Sawyer, commander, U.S. 7th Fleet. "It is, and will continue to be our people who define the role our Navy plays around the world. People who've made a choice, and have the will and strength of character to make a difference."
A Navy cruiser is a multi-mission ship that can operate independently or as part of a larger group of ships at sea. The ship is equipped with a vertical launching system, tomahawk missiles, torpedoes, guns, and a phalanx close-in weapons system.
Approximately 300 men and women serve aboard the ship. Their jobs are highly specialized and keep each part of the cruiser running smoothly, according to Navy officials. They do everything from maintaining gas turbine engines and operating the highly sophisticated Aegis weapons system to driving the ship and operating small boats.
Serving in the Navy means Metcalfe 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.”
There are many ways for sailors to earn distinction in their command, community, and career. Metcalfe remembers visiting the Philippines and volunteering for a community outreach project at an orphanage where he met and chatted with a young girl who expressed that she shared many of the same goals and dreams as he had.
“It satisfied me to know that I went out of my way, all the way to the other side of the world and I’m getting to help people in need,” said Metcalfe.
As a member of one of the U.S. Navy’s most relied upon assets, Metcalfe 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 is worthwhile, because it changes you,” he said. “Coming from a small town, that big change is not just in you, it’s outside of you, too. It feels like you have left a mark on the world.”