Spa City native serving aboard guided missile destroyer
SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. » A 1999 Saratoga Springs High School graduate is serving in the U.S. Navy aboard the guided missile destroyer, USS Curtis Wilbur.
Petty Officer 1st Class B. Perchak is a cryptologic technician aboard the Arleigh Burke-class guided missile destroyer operating out of Yokosuka, Japan.
The ship routinely deploys to protect alliances, enhance partnerships, and be ready to respond if a natural disaster occurs in the region.
A navy cryptologic technician is responsible for operating and maintaining electronic sensors and computer systems. They collect, analyze, exploit, and disseminate electronic intelligence in accordance with fleet and national tasking, provide safety of platform, indications and warning, and anti-ship missile defense, and provide technical and tactical guidance to warfare commanders.
“I enjoy being deployed here because of the different missions and different ports that we experience,” said Perchak. “The navy has taught me to prioritize. I don’t bother with the little things, but it’s the little things that bring me the most joy. My favorite part is serving with my fellow sailors. When it’s all said and done it’s the stories that you will remember most.”
More than 50 percent of the world’s shipping tonnage and a third of the world’s crude oil is passing through the region Perchak is serving in. The navy’s presence in Yokosuka is part of the United States’ long-standing interest in this part of the world.
Destroyers are warships that provide multi-mission offensive and defensive capabilities. They are 510 feet long and armed with tomahawk land-attack cruise missiles, Standard Missile-3 and newer variants of the Standard Missile family, advanced gun systems and closein gun systems.
Destroyers are deployed globally and can operate independently or as part of carrier strike groups, surface action groups, or amphibious readiness groups. Their presence helps the navy control the sea.
USS Curtis Wilbur has anti-
aircraft capability armed with long range missiles intended for air defense to counter the threat to friendly forces posed by manned aircraft, anti-ship, cruise and tactical ballistic missiles.
The Seventh Fleet, which is celebrating its 75th year in 2018, covers 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.
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.