By Chief Petty Officer Bill Steele, Navy Office of Community Outreach

SASEBO, Japan – A Stephen F. Austin High School graduate and Houston native is serving in the U.S. Navy with the forward deployed unit, Naval Beach Unit 7.

Chief Warrant Officer Two (CWO2) Jose Tamayo is a ship's boatswain operating forward in Sasebo, Japan.

A Navy ship's boatswain is responsible for maintaining NBU-7’s Landing Craft Utility boats and crews.

“We are the component that gets marines and equipment from the ships to the beach,” said Tamayo.”

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 U.S. has historic and enduring interests in this part of the world.

Commissioned in August of 2012, Naval Beach Unit 7 was formed to combine the three forward deployed naval forces detachments in Japan. The unit functions as the forward deployed naval force responsible for manning, organizing, training, maintaining and equipping all naval beach assets.

"Our alliance is rooted in shared interests and shared 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 benefts of being in NBU is if you’re trying to learn your job, we are the one-stop-shop vice going to an east coast command. You get to experience everything here,” Tamayo said.

Sailors serving abroad in Japan are highly motivated and quickly adapt to changing conditions.

“As the sole service representative in my family, I want to make them proud and provide the Navy readiness to keep them safe,” said Tamayo.

The Navy's presence in Sasebo is part of a long-standing commitment to the region.

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