Photo By Petty Officer 2nd Class Andrew Langholf | 200819-N-FA490-1010 EAST CHINA SEA (Aug. 19, 2020) A portrait of Information System...... read more read more
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SOUTH CHINA SEA— A Pensacola native and Pace High School graduate is serving in the U.S. Navy aboard the guided-missile destroyer, USS Halsey.
Petty Officer 2nd Class Solon Graham is an Information Systems Technician, serving aboard USS Halsey homeported out of Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. Halsey is underway in 7th Fleet conducting operations in the Indo-Pacific while assigned to the forward deployed Destroyer Squadron (DESRON) 15.
Approximately 300 men and women serve aboard the ship. Their jobs are highly specialized and keep each part of the destroyer running smoothly, according to Navy officials. Information Systems Technicians are responsible for a myriad of tasks day in and day out. While operating in 7th Fleet their most important job is ensuring Halsey maintains all network and communication 24/7.
“Each trouble ticket we see is like a puzzle. Some issues are similar to ones you've solved before and others are like a 1000 piece box with some of the picture blurred out,“ said Graham. “Each puzzle comes with its own level of satisfaction but the ones that directly make a colleague’s life immediately easier are the most meaningful.”
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.
Forward-deployed Sailors are crucial to the success of the global navy mission and earn high praise from their leaders.
“The experience to fully utilize the capability of our equipment while being deployed is unique,” said Graham. “There’s a lot of preparation and training that happens before we go out, but gaining the perspective of how vital to the ship your job is really doesn’t sink in until you’re in the middle of the ocean.”
A U.S. Navy destroyer 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 Phalanx close-in weapons systems.
Halsey is underway conducting operations in support of security and stability in the Indo-Pacific while assigned to Destroyer Squadron (DESRON) 15, the Navy’s largest forward-deployed DESRON and the U.S. 7th Fleet’s principal surface force..
For more information on Halsey, visit https://www.facebook.com/DESRON15.
| Date Taken: | 08.26.2020 |
| Date Posted: | 08.30.2020 23:51 |
| Story ID: | 377111 |
| Location: | AT SEA |
| Hometown: | PENSACOLA, FLORIDA, US |
| Web Views: | 37 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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