Photo By Petty Officer 1st Class Samantha Oblander | SOUTH CHINA SEA (Feb. 10, 2022) Quartermaster Seaman Apprentice Donovan Kozar, from...... read more read more
Subscribe
An Erie, Penn. native and graduate of Harborcreek High School is serving aboard Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Ralph Johnson (DDG 114).
Seaman Apprentice Donovan Kozar is a Quartermaster, also known as QM, serving aboard USS Ralph Johnson, forward-deployed to Commander, Fleet Activities Yokosuka, Japan.
“I joined in 2021 because of, what I guess you would call a gut feeling,” said Kozar. “I was working a dead-end job with terrible hours. I was working one day and got a text from a recruiter and something just clicked. I can’t really describe the feeling.”
Established in 1798, the rate of Quartermaster (QM) is one of the oldest rates in the Navy. QMs utilize their skills in cartography, charting, and oceanography to navigate the seas and keep the ship’s mission on course. For Kozar, becoming a QM just made sense.
“I’ve always been a fan of navigation, especially using the stars to navigate, so Quartermaster was a good fit for me,” said Kozar. “There is nothing more amazing than being on night watch on a crystal-clear night and watching the stars go by. Being on the bridge and taking in the view-- whether it’s nice, blue skies or stormy days, it’s always a beautiful thing to witness.”
USS Ralph Johnson recently shifted homeports from Everett, Wash. to Commander, Fleet Activities Yokosuka and Kozar has maintained an optimistic outlook on the change.
“It’s been hard being away from my family,” said Kozar. “Never in a million years would I have thought that I would spend my first year in the Navy in Japan. It’s hard being a world away from the people I care about, but I’m grateful for the opportunity to be here. I’m enjoying my time here. Getting to experience a culture so different from the one I’m used to back home is just incredible.”
Kozar came into the Navy with, according to him, big shoes to fill, but he plans to not only meet, but exceed expectations.
“I definitely have some big goals,” said Kozar. “I’m coming for the title of master chief later on in my career. My grandfather was a Petty Officer 1st Class and my uncle was a plank owner (member of the crew of a newly commissioned ship) on the USS Theodore Roosevelt, so I’ve got to one-up the family somehow. I just need to keep applying the things I’ve learned so far and roll with the punches as they come; keep moving and always be adaptable.”
Kozar has learned a lot from those around him and hopes to pass that advice to future Sailors.
“Everyone around me has given me hope, encouragement, and have made me into a more, shall we say, respectable Sailor,” said Kozar. “I want to be able to do that for Sailors in the future. I want to pass on the advice that was given to me, help people stand out in a positive light and help them make their commands notice their success.”
Ralph Johnson is forward-deployed to the U.S. 7th Fleet area of operations in support of a free and open Indo-Pacific. U.S. Navy’s 7th Fleet is the largest forward-deployed fleet and routinely operates and interacts with 35 maritime nations while conducting missions to preserve and protect critical regional partnerships.
| Date Taken: | 02.01.2022 |
| Date Posted: | 02.22.2022 00:55 |
| Story ID: | 415011 |
| Location: | YOKOSUKA, KANAGAWA, JP |
| Web Views: | 152 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, Erie, Penn. Native Serves Aboard USS Ralph Johnson (DDG 114) While Conducting Operations, by PO1 Samantha Oblander, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
No keywords found.
