Fort Hamilton HS grad serving aboard aircraft carrier

February 11, 2015 From U.S. Navy

Arian Trower, a U.S. Navy airman recruit, is serving aboard the U.S.S. George Washington in Asia. Photo courtesy U.S. Navy

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Arian Trower is making Brooklyn very proud.

Trower, a 2013 graduate of Fort Hamilton High School in Bay Ridge, joined the U.S. Navy and is currently on the adventure of a lifetime serving aboard the aircraft carrier U.S.S. George Washington.

The ship is stationed at a U.S. Navy base located 35 miles south of Tokyo.

Trower, an airman recruit, is an aviation boatswain’s mate aboard the aircraft carrier. While out at sea, the ship visits numerous countries each year such as the Philippines, Hong Kong, Singapore and Thailand.

As a sailor with numerous responsibilities, Trower said he is proud to serve his country aboard an aircraft carrier in Japan. “I enjoy working with people from different cultures and because it is such a big ship, I meet different people all the time. It’s a positive environment and the leadership is very helpful and they motivate me to be a better sailor,” he said.

Trower also said he is proud of the work he is doing as part of the Washington’s 3,300-member crew, living thousands of miles from home, and protecting America on the world’s oceans.

“We are over here fighting for our country and making the world a better place. If anyone is interested in joining the Navy, they should go overseas. I am 19 and never thought I would be living in Japan, let alone another country,” Trower said.

The U.S.S. George Washington is one of only 10 currently operational aircraft carriers in the U.S. Navy. It is the sixth Nimitz-class carrier and the fourth Navy vessel named after the first president of the United States.

Measuring nearly 1,100 feet from bow to stern on the flight deck, the ship is longer than three football fields. It is 257 feet wide, 244 feet high and weighs nearly 100,000 tons.

Assigned to the Navy’s Seventh Fleet, George Washington sailors are continuously on watch throughout the Indo-Asia-Pacific region, acting as one of America’s first responders in the Navy’s largest area of responsibility.

The sailors’ jobs are highly varied aboard George Washington. The ship’s company, which keeps all parts of the aircraft carrier running smoothly, does everything from launching and recovering aircraft to operating its nuclear propulsion plant. Another 2,000 sailors are assigned to the ship’s embarked air wing, Carrier Air Wing Five, flying and maintaining aircraft aboard the ship.

“I never cease to be impressed with the type and quality of work that goes on aboard the carrier each day,” said Capt. Timothy Kuehhas, the carrier’s commanding officer. “Our team is filled with highly qualified young adults – in many cases, 19 and 20 years old – and they’re out here launching and recovering aircraft, running a complex propulsion system safely, serving as air traffic controllers, operating sophisticated electronics and keeping this floating city alive and functioning. Collectively, they are part of the greatest ship in our Navy.”