YOKOSUKA, Japan – Petty Officer 3rd Class Rafael Cruz, a native of Orlando, Florida, was looking to see the world and earn his way toward college. He thought he could work toward both in the U.S. Navy, and it wouldn’t hurt to do it in Japan, where he’d wanted to visit ever since watching anime as a kid.
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| Photo by Senior Chief Petty Officer Gary Ward |
“Kind of hectic here, the schedule changes and fluctuates, slow some days, sporadic other days, you never really know what to expect,” said Cruz.
Cruz, a 2014 graduate of Cypress Creek High School, is a hospital corpsman aboard the Yokosuka, Japan-based ship, one of several in its class forward-deployed to the region.
“I monitor sailor physical readiness, hold sick call hours, people come see me for pretty much everything,” Cruz said, noting that he also gives physicals for special programs, educates on hearing and sight conservation, and provides information on job hazards like heat stress education for engineeers.
Cruz credits part of his success in the Navy to lessons learned in Orlando.
“Helping people was always something I liked to do as a kid,” Cruz said. “Every time I saw someone getting treated unfairly, I'd step up and help them. If I see someone fall, first thing that comes to mind, I want to go help them up.”
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 Japanese culture is so much different from American culture,” Cruz said. “They are so accepting of us. Seeing another culture and trying to be a part of it is unique.”
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."
Destroyers are warships that provide multi-mission offensive and defensive capabilities. They are 510 feet long and armed with tomahawk land-attack cruise missiles, Standard Missile-3 and newer variants of the SM missile family, advanced gun systems and close-in gun systems.
Destroyers are deployed globally and can operate independently or as part of carrier strike groups, surface action groups, or amphibious readiness groups. Their presence helps the Navy control the sea. Sea control is the precondition for everything else the Navy does. It cannot project power, secure the commons, deter aggression, or assure allies without the ability to control the seas when and where desired.
USS John S. McCain has anti-aircraft capability armed with long range missiles intended for air defense to counter the threat to friendly forces posed by manned aircraft, anti-ship, cruise and tactical ballistic missiles.
Serving in the Navy means Cruz 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. Cruz is most proud of how he helped get help for a shipmate who almost took his life.
“I wouldn't say that helping him was an accomplishment, but that's me seeing the impact of my job,” Cruz said. “One day, he texted me and said he was sorry. He said ‘thank you for being a friend to me.’ That was an alarm in my head, so I alerted people on the ship who went and found him as he was about to attempt suicide.”
As a member of one of the U.S. Navy’s most relied upon assets, Cruz and other sailors know they are part of a legacy that will last beyond their lifetimes contributing to the Navy the nation needs.
“People coming up to you and saying thanks inspires me to always be better at my job,” Cruz said. “The very first time, before I even finished boot camp, a lady said it to me and I was like ‘what are you talking about?’ My dad was there and helped me understand she wasn’t necessarily thanking me for something I had already done. It meant thank you for the sacrifice you're going to make.”