Longview, Texas native serves aboard USS Halsey

AT SEA

08.26.2020

Courtesy Story

Commander, Task Force 71/Destroyer Squadron 15

SOUTH CHINA SEA— A Longview native and Pine Tree High School graduate is serving in the U.S. Navy aboard the guided-missile destroyer, USS Halsey.

Petty Officer 2nd Class Daniel Happle is an Information System Technician, serving aboard USS Halsey homeported out of Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. Halsey is underway in 7th Fleet conducting operations in the Indo-Pacific while assigned to the forward deployed Destroyer Squadron (DESRON) 15.

Approximately 300 men and women serve aboard the ship. Their jobs are highly specialized and keep each part of the destroyer running smoothly, according to Navy officials. Information SystemsTechnicians are responsible for a myriad of tasks day in and day out. While operating in 7th Fleet their most important job is ensuring Halsey maintains all network and communication 24/7. This can be a very perplexing task.

“It is challenging to the mind” said Happle. “I like a task that requires me to think about multiple possibilities.”

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.

Forward-deployed Sailors are crucial to the success of the global navy mission and earn high praise from their leaders.

“I went to college for computer science to get a job as an IT in the civilian world, but I wasn’t able to get a job due to lack of experience,” said Happle. “Being forward deployed in 7th Fleet has given me experience not too many civilian ITs can put on a resume.”

A U.S. Navy destroyer is a multi-mission ship that can operate independently or as part of a larger group of ships at sea. The ship is equipped with a vertical launching system, tomahawk missiles, torpedoes, guns and Phalanx close-in weapons systems.

Halsey is underway conducting operations in support of security and stability in the Indo-Pacific while assigned to Destroyer Squadron (DESRON) 15, the Navy’s largest forward-deployed DESRON and the U.S. 7th Fleet’s principal surface force.

For more information on Halsey, visit https://www.facebook.com/DESRON15.

• Date Taken: 08.26.2020
• Date Posted: 08.30.2020 23:51
• Story ID: 377108
• Location: AT SEA
• Hometown: LONGVIEW, TX, US