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PHILIPPINE SEA (Aug. 18, 2024) – A Quakertown, Pennsylvania native is serving aboard the Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Dewey (DDG 105).
Fire Controlman (Aegis) 2nd Class (FCA2) Meghan LaGro joined the Navy in 2021and is now forward-deployed aboard Dewey to Fleet Activities Yokosuka, Japan.
With aunts, uncles and grandparents serving in either the Navy or Air Force, LaGro said she always planned to follow in their footsteps.
“I always wanted to join the Navy,” said LaGro. “My dad was a nuclear engineer in the Navy, my family has a history of serving in the military and I wanted to make them proud.”
As an FCA aboard Dewey, LaGro serves as a missile systems supervisor and is responsible for maintaining and operating the Aegis fire control system.
“Essentially, the watch consists of two components – radar and missile control,” said LaGro. “We are identifying and tracking air and surface contacts and ready to fire missiles if needed.”
LaGro said she enjoys the technical aspects of her job, but it’s actually something else that delivers greater satisfaction.
“My favorite part of the job is the close community,” said LaGro. “There are so few FCAs onboard and we all stand different watch stations: Aegis Computer Network Technicians, SPY radar technicians and Fire Control Systems technicians. These are separate workstations, but if one has a problem, it affects the others. Everything we do is cohesive, so we have to depend on each other.”
According to LaGro, one of the most rewarding things about serving in the Navy is having the opportunity to serve with so many different people.
“I appreciate the opportunity to work with people from all kinds of backgrounds and differing life experiences,” said LaGro. “I joined the Navy at 30 and I’ve never really worked with so many people of different ages. It’s been interesting learning how to adapt to different people and modify your leadership style accordingly. You can’t lead everyone the same way.”
LaGro offered some advice to others thinking about a career in the Navy.
“Do it. Just do it,” said LaGro. “The worst you’re going to get out of it is a paycheck and job experience, which at the end of the day is never a bad thing. But you’ll have the opportunity to meet new people and see places you’ve never seen before and when it’s all said and done, if it’s not for you, at least you can say you tried it.”
Dewey is forward-deployed and assigned to Destroyer Squadron (DESRON) 15, the Navy’s largest DESRON and the U.S. 7th Fleet’s principal surface force.
U.S. 7th Fleet is the U.S. Navy’s largest forward-deployed numbered fleet, and routinely interacts and operates with allies and partners in preserving a free and open Indo-Pacific region.
| Date Taken: | 08.18.2024 |
| Date Posted: | 08.21.2024 08:26 |
| Story ID: | 479093 |
| Location: | PHILIPPINE SEA |
| Web Views: | 35 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, Quakertown, Pennsylvania Native Serves Aboard USS Dewey While Conducting Operations in the Philippine Sea, by PO1 Gregory Johnson, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
