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PACIFIC OCEAN – Petty Officer 2nd Class Juliannah Rose Afaga, a native of Fort Thomas, Ky., and graduate of Highlands High School, is serving in the U.S. Navy aboard the Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Rafael Peralta (DDG 115).
She serves as a Cryptologic Technician (Technical), and supports anti-ship missile defense and electronic warfare operations aboard Rafael Peralta. Though her ship is forward-deployed to Yokosuka, Japan, Afaga still finds time to contact her family members in Fort Thomas.
“My hometown is where my family is, and where I grew into the woman I am today,” she said. “It taught me how to be kind and compassionate towards others, and how the only way to get what you want out of life is to work hard for it.”
Afaga said her hometown made her more resilient and strong-willed - qualities that influenced her development as a Sailor.
“I was never handed anything, and nothing came easy for me,” she said. “I had to work hard in order to achieve my goals, and I’ve had to do the same thing in the Navy. Every day I try to work hard in order to be a good example for the junior people in my division and make my family proud.”
She also attributes her hardworking and resilient nature to her father.
“I look up to my dad the most,” said Afaga. “He works so hard to provide for our family, and has shown me that you can do anything if you put your mind to it. Nothing is easy but the work is always worth it. His value for hard work has definitely rubbed off on me.”
Her hard work in the Navy eventually led to her being meritoriously advanced to the rank of petty officer second class on March 1st, 2021. She described the promotion as unexpected, and one of the proudest moments of her military service.
Yet her desire to achieve goes far beyond advancement. In the future, she wishes to start college courses, obtain a personal training certificate through the Navy, and become a sexual assault prevention and response (SAPR) victim advocate.
Afaga’s experiences on the Rafael Peralta have also been a significant part of her life.
“Serving aboard the USS Rafael Peralta means a lot to me,” she said. “I was a part of her maiden deployment and homeport shift from San Diego to Yokosuka. There have been a lot of firsts for this ship, and I am happy that I have been able to witness many of them.”
Rafael Peralta is assigned to Task Force 71/Destroyer Squadron (DESRON) 15, the Navy's largest forward-deployed DESRON and the U.S. 7th Fleet's principal surface force.
As the U.S. Navy's largest forward-deployed fleet, 7th Fleet employs 50-70 ships and submarines across the Western Pacific and Indian oceans. U.S. 7th Fleet routinely operates and interacts with 35 maritime nations while conducting missions to preserve and protect a free and open Indo-Pacific Region.
| Date Taken: | 03.18.2021 |
| Date Posted: | 03.17.2021 22:40 |
| Story ID: | 391675 |
| Location: | AT SEA |
| Hometown: | FORT THOMAS, KY, US |
| Web Views: | 21 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, Fort Thomas, Ky., native serves aboard USS Rafael Peralta, by PO1 Aron Montano, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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