A 2007 Lowell High School graduate and Lowell, Massachusetts native is serving in the U.S. Navy with Commander Fleet Activities Sasebo (CFAS).
Petty Officer 3rd Class Bunnaran Gnoy is a hospital corpsman serving with the NBHC Sasebo Command operating out of Sasebo, Japan.
A Navy hospital corpsman is responsible for performing duties in the prevention and treatment of disease and injury and assisting health care professionals in providing medical care to Navy personnel and their families.
“The best part of my job is patient care,” says Gnoy.
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.
“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 Navy’s presence in Sasebo is part of a long-standing commitment to the region.
“U.S. Fleet Activities Sasebo is strategically significant to Commander, U.S. 7th Fleet and Commander, Naval Forces Japan,” says Commander, U.S. Fleet Activities Sasebo Capt. Brad Stallings. “We enable and serve the fleet in order for them to execute their missions. We can do this because we have top notch Sailors, Japanese and American civilian employees, and contractors dedicated to ensuring the fleet gets what they need to be successful.”
Fleet Activities Sasebo Sailors define excellence in shore installation management through their proactive leadership and seamless command integration.
“The Japanese contractors that I work with are very helpful,” says Gnoy. “They are very willing to help with the language barrier.”
Sailors serving abroad in Sasebo, Japan are highly motivated and quickly adapt to changing conditions.
“Serving in the Navy brings me great honor and pride,” says Gnoy.
Formally established in June of 1946, U.S. Fleet Activities Sasebo has provided support for the U.S. Seventh Fleet area of responsibility since the Korean War. Today, including the forward-deployed ships, Fleet Activities Sasebo is home to more than 25 commands, and more than 5,900 military members and their families as part of the Forward-Deployed Naval Forces.
“The U.S.-Japan alliance remains the cornerstone for peace and stability in the Indo-Asia-Pacific region,” says Harris.