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PHILIPPINE SEA – An Apollo, Pa., native and 2007 Apollo-Ridge High School, graduate is serving in the U.S. Navy aboard the Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer, USS John S. McCain (DDG 56).
Petty Officer 1st Class Janelle Brown is an Aerographer’s Mate, or AG, assigned to Naval Oceanography Antisubmarine Warfare Center (NOAC), Yokosuka who is currently underway aboard John S. McCain, forward-deployed to Commander, Fleet Activities Yokosuka, Japan.
AGs are the Navy’s meteorological and oceanographic experts, trained in the science of meteorology and physical oceanography. They also learn to use instruments that monitor weather characteristics such as air pressure, temperature, humidity, wind speed and direction. They then distribute this data to aircraft, ships and shore activities.
“AGs can be put anywhere,” said Brown. “We are kind of behind the scenes sometimes and people don’t know about us, but we’re there. We can go anywhere from Afghanistan to the Arctic. As an AG you can serve aboard ships, with Navy special warfare, boat teams, E.O.D. (explosive ordnance disposal), or you could be at a weather hub where you’re doing global forecasting and aviation forecasting.”
Brown is currently serving as part of an embarked team from NOAC, Yokosuka aboard John S. McCain providing up-to-the-minute oceanographic and meteorological advice directly to the ship’s leadership and combat watch standers.
“We do submarine warfare and find sonar ranges under the water; we hunt subs basically,” said Brown. “To do that you have to take into consideration oceanography, topography, currents, all kinds of stuff because that affects how sound moves through the water.”
When Brown joined the Navy she initially served as an Airman without a rating designation. She chose to pursue a career in the AG rating after her initial few years in the Navy.
“I originally chose to be an AG because I like science and I was going to get out of the Navy and go back to college,” said Brown. “I figured it could roll back into the civilian life pretty easily, but here I am, twelve years later and I’m still doing it.”
Brown says that her decision to stay in the Navy as a career was ultimately not a difficult choice for her. It was a calling.
“I stayed because I want to serve,” said Brown. “I like to help people and I like to give back. That is basically why I’m here. I like training and seeing my Sailors grow. I like seeing young Sailors go from being confused to gaining a level of understanding and going out there and just rocking it.”
This is Brown’s second tour in the U.S. 7th Fleet area of responsibility, having previously served with the “Liberty Bells” of Airborne Early Warning Squadron (VAW 115) aboard USS George Washington (CVN 73) when the ship was forward-deployed to Yokosuka, Japan.
John S. McCain has contributed to various critical missions promoting regional peace and prosperity, including integrated operations last fall with the French Navy and Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force (JMSDF) focusing on anti-submarine warfare tactics between the three navies. In November John S. McCain joined ships from the Royal Australian Navy and JMSDF for the first phase of exercise Malabar 2021, and transited to the Andaman Sea through the Strait of Malacca with the Royal Australian Navy.
John S. McCain also operated as part of the Ronald Reagan Carrier Strike Group, Theodore Roosevelt Carrier Strike Group, and operated in the South China Sea, East China Sea, Indian Ocean and Philippine Sea.
Most recently, John S. McCain participated in the annual U.S.-Japan Bilateral Advanced Warfighting Training exercise (BAWT) which focuses on combined training and interoperability of coalition forces, and enables real-world proficiency and readiness in response to any contingency.
“It is busy out here in 7th Fleet,” said Brown. “You’ve got to be ready to get after it and get stuff done. It’s fast-paced, it’s a grind, and it’s a hustle everyday. That is 7th fleet in a nutshell, but I enjoy it.”
John S. McCain is forward-deployed to the U.S. 7th Fleet area of operations in support of a free and open Indo-Pacific. As the U.S. Navy's largest forward-deployed fleet, 7th Fleet employs 50 to 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: | 03.26.2021 |
| Date Posted: | 03.30.2021 02:08 |
| Story ID: | 392550 |
| Location: | PHILIPPINE SEA |
| Hometown: | APOLLO, PA, US |
| Web Views: | 66 |
| Downloads: | 1 |
This work, Apollo, Pa., Native serves aboard USS John S. McCain while conducting operations in the Philippine Sea, by PO1 Jeremy Graham, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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