Petty Officer 1st Class Purnell Richardson Jr., a native of Harrisburg, is serving aboard the Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Curtis Wilbur, patrolling one of the world's busiest maritime regions as part of the leading edge of U.S. 7th Fleet. Richardson, a 2001 graduate of Harrisburg Christian High School, decided to join the Navy 11 years ago.
He is now a ship's serviceman aboard the Yokosuka, Japan-based ship, one of several in its class forward-deployed to the region. His job focuses on customer service for the ship store, the barber shop, retail operations, and more. Richardson said he is most proud of earning the rank of first-class petty officer after only six years in the Navy, which is unusual.
U.S. 7th Fleet spans 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. U.S. 7th Fleet's area of operations encompasses 36 maritime countries and 50 percent of the world's population with between 50 and 70 U.S. ships and submarines, 140 aircraft, and approximately 20,000 sailors. More than 50 percent of the world's shipping tonnage and a third of the world's crude oil pass through the region.
Destroyers are warships that provide multi-mission offensive and defensive capabilities. They 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, which is the precondition for all other Navy activities, such as securing the commons, deterring aggression, and assuring allies. 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.
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