SERVING FOR U: “Why Being There Matters”

Lt. Jeff Rigby (Right), a Jacksonville, Fla., native and the supply officer and Seaman Carli Krueger (Left), an Ogden, Utah, native, both stationed aboard amphibious transport dock ship USS New York (LPD 21), stand by in preparation for an underway replenishment-at-sea with USNS Alan Shepard (T-AKE 3) Jan. 21, 2015. New York is a part of the Iwo Jima Amphibious Ready Group (ARG) and, with the embarked 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU), is deployed in support of maritime security operations and theater security cooperation efforts in the U.S. 5th Fleet area of operations.

“Why Being There Matters”

On our planet, more than 70 percent of which is covered by water, being there means having the ability to act from the sea. The Navy is uniquely positioned to be there; the world’s oceans give the Navy the power to protect America’s interests anywhere, and at any time. Your Navy protects and defends America on the world’s oceans. Navy ships, submarines, aircraft and, most importantly, tens of thousands of America’s finest young men and women are deployed around the world doing just that. They are there now. They will be there when we are sleeping tonight. They will be there every Saturday, Sunday and holiday this year.  They are there around the clock, far from our shores, defending America at all times.