NORFOLK, Va. - Petty Officer 2nd Class Joshua Rosario, a native of the Bronx, New York, serves aboard USS George H.W. Bush, a U.S. Navy aircraft carrier operating out of Norfolk, Virginia.
Rosario graduated from Clarkstown South High School in 2009.
The skills and values needed to succeed in the Navy are similar to those found in the Bronx.
“My mother taught me four things: to be clean, honest, hardworking and trustworthy,” Rosario said. “She also told me to put my shoulder into it. My level of maturity and having a higher sense of decorum have helped me in the Navy.”
Rosario joined the Navy five years ago. Today, Rosario serves as a master-at-arms.
“I joined the Navy for an opportunity for a better future,” Rosario said. “The Navy was the option given. My father’s friend was a Seabee. He offered up the opportunity, and I took it.”
Commissioned in 2009, the aircraft carrier is named for George H.W. Bush, the 41st President of the United States and a former naval aviator. The ship was the first aircraft carrier to have its namesake participate in its christening.
Aircraft carriers are the centerpiece of America’s naval forces. For more than 100 years, they have projected power, sustained sea control, bolstered deterrence, provided humanitarian assistance and disaster relief, and maintained enduring commitments worldwide.
The Navy’s aircraft carriers are among the largest warships in the world. Bush is longer than three football fields at 1,092 feet. The ship is 252 feet wide and weighs more than 100,000 tons. More than 5,000 sailors serve aboard these self-contained mobile airports.
According to Navy officials, aircraft carriers are versatile and have unique mission capabilities that make them a more strategic asset for the Navy than fixed-site bases. They are often the first response in a global crisis because of their ability to operate freely in international waters anywhere on the world’s oceans. In addition, no other weapon system can deploy and operate forward with a full-sized aircraft carrier’s speed, endurance, agility and combat capability of its air wing.
The U.S. Navy is celebrating its 250th birthday this year.
According to Navy officials, “America is a maritime nation and for 250 years, America’s Warfighting Navy has sailed the globe in defense of freedom.”
With 90% of global commerce traveling by sea and access to the internet relying on the security of undersea fiber optic cables, Navy officials continue to emphasize that the prosperity of the United States is directly linked to recruiting and retaining talented people from across the rich fabric of America.
Rosario has many opportunities to achieve accomplishments during military service.
“My family is my proudest accomplishment in the Navy,” Rosario said. “They’re my legacy. I have two boys and one girl, and a wonderful wife. We met at the beginning of my career in early 2022 when I was at my first command on the USS John F. Kennedy.”
Rosario serves a Navy that operates far forward, around the world and around the clock, promoting the nation’s prosperity and security.
“Serving in the Navy gives me a sense of patriotism,” Rosario said.
Rosario is grateful to others for helping make a Navy career possible.
“I want to thank my wife, Whitney,” Rosario added. “She’s my life partner. She’s going to be here while everyone else is doing what they do. I also want to thank my kids for keeping me facetious. Just knowing that when I get home, I have all these people waiting for me, there’s nothing here that can ruin that morale.”