CASH grad serves in Navy with distinction

Coatesville native and graduate Kyle Dillard serves in the Navy as a culinary specialist

JAPAN » A 2007 Coatesville Senior High School graduate and Coatesville native is serving in the U.S. Navy with Commander Fleet Activities Sasebo.

Petty Officer Third Class Kyle Dillard is a culinary specialist serving with the USS Ashland at Commander Fleet Activities Sasebo, operating out of Sasebo, Japan. A Navy culinary specialist is responsible for operating and maintaining Navy messes and living quarters established to subsist and accommodate Navy personnel.

“Growing up in Coatesville, I was taught to roll with the punches and always have a positive attitude toward anything you do,” Dillard said. “I bring that same resistance and perseverance to the fleet and my Navy career. Serving in the Navy has allowed me to be able to take care of my family and give back to my country.”

With more than 50 percent of the world’s shipping tonnage and a third of the world’s crude oil passing through the region, Navy officials said the U.S. has historic and enduring interests in this part of the world.

“Our alliance is rooted in shared interests and shared

“Growing up in Coatesville, I was taught to roll with the punches and always have a positive attitude toward anything you do. I bring that same resistance and perseverance to the fleet and my Navy career.” — Petty Officer Third Class Kyle Dillard

values,” said Adm. Harry Harris, U.S. Pacific Command Commander. “It’s not hyperbole to say that the entire world has benefited from the U.S.-Japan alliance. While our alliance helped stabilize the region after the Second World War, it also enabled the Japanese people to bring about an era of unprecedented economic growth. And for the last six decades, our soldiers, sailors,

airmen, marines and coast guardsmen have worked side by side with the Japan Self Defense Force to protect and advance peace and freedom.”

The Navy’s presence in Sasebo, Japan is part of a long-standing commitment to the region, Navy officials noted.

“U.S. Fleet Activities Sasebo is strategically significant to Commander, U.S. 7th Fleet and Commander, Naval Forces Japan,” said Commander, U.S. Fleet Activities Sasebo Capt. Brad Stallings. “We enable and serve the fleet

in order for them to execute their missions. We can do this because we have top notch sailors, Japanese and American civilian employees, and contractors dedicated to ensuring the fleet gets what they need to be successful.”

Navy officials said that Fleet Activities Sasebo sailors define excellence in shore installation management through their proactive leadership and seamless command integration.

“At my command I feel like they get stuff done and right the first time with efficiency,” Dillard said.

Formally established in June of 1946, U.S. Fleet Activities Sasebo has provided support for the U.S. Seventh Fleet area of responsibility since the Korean War. Today, including the forward-deployed ships, Fleet Activities Sasebo is home to more than 25 commands, and more than 5,900 military members and their families as part of the Forward-Deployed Naval Forces.

“The U.S.-Japan alliance remains the cornerstone for peace and stability in the Indo-Asia-Pacific region,” said Harris.

SUBMITTED PHOTO Petty Officer Third Class Kyle Dillard, a 2007 Coatesville Senior High School graduate and Coatesville native, is a culinary specialist serving with the USS Ashland at Commander Fleet Activities Sasebo, operating out of Sasebo, Japan.