Pompano Beach Native serves with the U.S. Navy half a world away with U.S. Naval Hospital Yokosuka

Pompano Beach Native serves with the U.S. Navy half a world away with U.S. Naval Hospital Yokosuka

By Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Theodore Quintana,Navy Office of Community Outreach

YOKOSUKA, Japan — A Pompano Beach, Florida, native, and 2011 Pompano Beach High School graduate is serving in the U.S. Navy with U.S. Naval Hospital Yokosuka (USNH Yokosuka).

Petty Officer 3rd Class Ternisha Williams is a hospital corpsman serving with USNH Yokosuka; operating out of Yokosuka, Japan.

A Navy hospital corpsman is responsible for the prevention and treatment of disease and injury, assisting health care professionals in providing medical care to personnel, conducting preliminary physical examinations, performing medical administrative, supply and accounting procedures, and maintaining treatment records and reports.

Williams is proud to serve in the Pacific and fondly recalls memories of Pompano Beach.

“Growing up I learned to be careful how you treat people because you never know when you would need them again,” said Williams.

Moments like that makes it worth serving around the world; always ready to defend America’s interests. 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. The Navy’s presence in Yokosuka is part of that long-standing commitment, explained Navy officials.

USNH Yokosuka is the largest U.S. military treatment facility on mainland Japan: a 47-bed core hospital in Yokosuka, near Tokyo. Branch health annexes are located at Camp Fuji and Hario, while Branch health clinics are in Sasebo, Iwakuni, and Atsugi in mainland Japan; Chinhae, Korea on the southern tip of South Korea; and Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean.

“You make a difference every day,” said Deputy Commander, U.S. 7th Fleet Joey Dodgen. “We are the most prepared, highly trained, and the most capable force in the Indo Pacific. Our carriers, amphibious assault ships, aircraft and most importantly, our people are ready today to face regional challenges and lead our Navy’s forces in this theater, just as the officers and sailors of 7th Fleet have done for 75 years. So, thank you for all that you do.”

USNH Yokosuka serves 42,000 beneficiaries throughout the Western Pacific by caring for readiness. USNH Yokosuka strives to be the premier provider of healthcare to active duty forces and their families in the Indo-Asia-Pacific region through Joint Partnerships.

“I think being forward deployed is very beneficial because it supports the mission of the overall Navy,” said Williams.

Williams is also proud of receiving the Junior Sailor of the Quarter award and Sailor in the Spotlight for the hospital.

As a member of one of the U.S. Navy’s most relied-upon assets; Williams and other sailors know they are part of a legacy that will last beyond their lifetimes providing the Navy the nation needs.

“Serving in the Navy has presented me with opportunity to be humbler and more accepting of different people and personalities,” said Williams. “Serving in the Navy allows me to give back and help a bigger population, in turn providing more assistance to not only myself, but to my country. It’s not just a job, it’s more of a service of dedication.”

Seventh Fleet, which is celebrating its 75th year in 2018, spans more than 124 million square kilometers, stretching from the International Date Line to the India/Pakis-tan border; and from the Kuril Islands in the North to the Antarctic in the South. Seventh Fleet’s area of operation 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 in the seventh Fleet.