Joshua Nolan, a 2015 graduate of Haverhill High School, is now serving aboard one of the U.S. Navy’s newest and most advanced amphibious ships out of Fleet Activities Sasebo, Japan.
Seaman Nolan, who works in the deck department aboard the forward-deployed amphibious transport dock ship USS Green Bay, is patrolling one of the world’s busiest maritime regions as part of U.S. 7th Fleet.
“Life on the ship is good,” said Nolan. “I work with a lot of great people. The hours are long, but the job still needs to get done, so you just work.” He explained he is in charge of ship maintenance, maintaining the mooring lines and stand outlook watches.
He credits some success in the Navy to lessons learned in Haverhill.
“I learned a lot growing up,” said Nolan. “I have a great family and a lot of friends that helped me get to where I am today. They motivated me to put hard work and dedication into everything I do.”
The U.S. 7th Fleet spans more than 124 million square kilometers, stretching from the International Date Line to the India/Pakistan border; and from the Kuril Islands in the North to the Antarctic in the South. U.S. 7th Fleet’s area of operations 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.
More than half of the world’s shipping tonnage and a third of the world’s crude oil passes through the region.