Photo: Electronics Technician 2nd Class Krystian Cruz, right, from Murfreesboro, Tenn., and Electronics Technician 3rd Class Guillermo Cardona, from Arlington, Texas. Picture by Petty Officer 3rd Class Thomas Contant.
SASEBO, Japan (Sept. 9, 2021) Electronics Technician 2nd Class Krystian Cruz from Murfreesboro, Tenn. is now in Japan. Cruz, who is in the US Navy, is assigned to the forward-deployed amphibious assault ship USS America (LHA 6).
USS America, the lead ship of the America Amphibious Ready Group, along with the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit, is operating in the U.S. 7th Fleet area of responsibility to enhance interoperability with allies and partners and serve as a ready response force to defend peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific region.
With more than 90 percent of all trade traveling by sea, and 95 percent of the world’s international phone and internet traffic carried through fiber optic cables lying on the ocean floor, Navy officials continue to emphasize that the prosperity and security of the United States is directly linked to a strong and ready Navy.
Cruz is part of a crew that conducts maintenance on the ship’s radar system and more. The Murfreesboro man is one of 1,102 enlisted personnel in the Navy that call the ship home. There are also 102 Navy Officers on board the USS America. In addition to the Navy personnel, the ship holds 1,687 US Marines.
The ship’s original homeport was San Diego, California up until 2019 when it was changed to Sasebo, Japan. Marines onboard the massive ship are carried to shore and into battle by way of the V-22 Osprey while being supported by the F-35B Lightning II aircraft.
