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Daily Newspaper and Travel Guide
for Pecos Country of West Texas
Lifestyle
Friday, December 15, 2000
Sailor trains to provides stability in the Pacific
By JEFF BRESLAU
Since training is to the U.S. Navy what location is to the real estate
market, Sailors like Pecos' Jason S. Chabarria spend many hours at sea honing
their skills to increase their value to our nation's defense policy.
Navy Petty Officer 3rd Class Chabarria, the 21-year-old son
of Robert and Linda Chabarria of Pecos, recently completed 55 days on board
the aircraft carrier USS Kitty Hawk (CV 63) in the Sea of Japan, participating
in three separate exercises with military forces of South Korea and Japan.
The centerpiece of the U.S. 7th Fleet forward deployed in Yokosuka,
Japan, Kitty Hawk is nearly three football fields long, 24 stories high,
and maintains an arsenal of more than 75 warplanes.
Chabarria, a disbursing clerk, assists with the management of the payroll
for crewmembers.
Chabarria's skills, when combined with those of his 4,800 fellow crewmembers,
are necessary to ensure the success of Kitty Hawk's mission of providing
power projection in defense of U.S. interests abroad.
The three exercises Kitty Hawk recently participated in, Foal Eagle, Annual
Exercise (ANNUALEX) 12G, and Keen Sword were designed to train Navy and Marine
Corps forces of the U.S. 7th Fleet to help defend our allies and
provide stability in the Pacific region. Chabarria understands the importance
of these training exercises.
"I think these exercises are important because we get familiarized with
working with other countries in case something happens," said Chabarria,
a 1997 graduate of Pecos High School.
The U.S. maintains a continuous, ready, forward presence in this region
as a fast-reaction force in the event of crisis in the Pacific Ocean or in
the Persian Gulf.
During the 39th annual Foal Eagle exercise, Kitty Hawk and
approximately 20,000 other U.S. Navy and Marine personnel trained while improving
readiness and interoperability with Republic of Korea allies. Training includes
a wide range of air, surface, subsurface, and amphibious operations.
After eight days of intense training with the South Korean military, Kitty
Hawk had the opportunity to visit Pusan, Korea, for rest, relaxation, and
holiday shopping. Frequent port visits to foreign ports are one of many rewards
Sailors discovered while serving on forward-deployed ships.
"I love being overseas. I like going to sea a lot and hitting different
ports and experiencing different cultures. In my short career, I've seen
more countries and done so much that people will never do their whole lives.
Also, we get paid more being overseas," said Chabarria.
Leaving Pusan brought on the next phase of the flight operations and exercises.
ANNUALEX 12G and Exercise Keen Sword redirected the focus of elements of
the U.S. 7th Fleet to the Japanese Maritime Self Defense Force
(JMSDF).
More than 8,000 Navy and Marine Corps personnel trained with the JMSDF
to hone their collective interoperability, defend Japan against maritime
threats, and improve the battle group's capability for sea and air defense.
Constant training is not only designed to build stronger forces, it is
also designed to build more focused Sailors. Understanding the importance
of setting goals can help Sailors prepare for their careers inside and outside
the Navy. Chabarria has learned to set goals for his own future.
"My goals while I'm in the Navy are to become as qualified as I can in
everything and make rank in the first time I'm up for it. After the Navy,
I plan to finish my degree and become a successful accountant," said Chabarria,
a two-year Navy veteran.
Focused and trained, Chabarria and his Kitty Hawk shipmates will continue
their 24-hour on-call watch, forward deployed to Japan, ready to respond
to a crisis and sail into harm's way when directed by the president.
Pecos Enterprise
York M. "Smokey" Briggs, Publisher
Division of Buckner News Alliance, Inc.
324 S. Cedar St., Pecos, TX 79772
Phone 915-445-5475, FAX 915-445-4321
e-mail news@pecos.net
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Copyright 2000 by Pecos Enterprise
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