Photo provided.
PACIFIC OCEAN – A 1999 Saratoga Springs High School graduate is serving aboard the U.S. Navy’s forward-deployed guided missile destroyer, USS Curtis Wilbur.
Petty Officer 1st Class B Perchak is a cryptologic technician aboard the Arleigh Burke-class ship operating out of Yokosuka, Japan. The ship routinely deploys to protect alliances, enhance partnerships, and is ready to respond if a natural disaster occurs in the region.
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.
The USS Curtis Wilbur has anti-aircraft capability armed with long-range missiles intended for air defense to counter the threat to friendly forces posed by manned aircraft, anti-ship, cruise and tactical ballistic missiles.
As a member of one of the U.S. Navy’s most relied-upon assets, Perchak and other sailors know they are part of a legacy that will last beyond their lifetimes.
The Navy’s 7th Fleet, which is celebrating its 75th year in 2018, spans more than 124 million square kilometers, stretching from the International Date Line to the India and Pakistan border; and from the Kuril Islands in the North to the Antarctic in the South.
Seventh Fleet's area of operation encompasses 36 maritime countries and 50 percent of the world’s population, with between 50-70 U.S. ships and submarines, 140 aircraft, and approximately 20,000 sailors.
