When an East Texan enters the U.S. Armed forces, we rarely hear about how it's going.  So when we heard about a Tyler native that's serving on a U.S. Navy Destroyer Squadron, we had to tell the story.

The Navy Office of Community Outreach keeps hometowns in the know about what's happening with men and women who are serving, and since most of the Navy's personnel and equipment are concentrated on the coasts, the outreach office oversees programs designed to bring the Navy to cities like Tyler that are landlocked and don't have a big Navy presence.

The outreach office reached out and let us know that Chief Master at Arms Jon Cox of Tyler (on the left in the photo) has been actively serving on a DESRON, which is an acronym for Destroyer Squadron.  That's a unit that's responsible for training and equipping naval ships.

Jon Cox is pictured with Gunner’s Mate 3rd Class Chris Stout, from Cocoa, Florida as they work on a multifunction display in the pilothouse of the Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Rafael Peralta.

The Navy says Rafael Peralta is assigned to Task Force 71/Destroyer Squadron 15, and that's the Navy's largest forward-deployed DESRON and the U.S. 7th Fleet's principal surface force.  It's in the Pacific Ocean.

The Navy said too, "With more than 90 percent of all trade traveling by sea, and 95 percent of the world’s international phone and internet traffic carried through fiber optic cables lying on the ocean floor, Navy officials continue to emphasize that the prosperity and security of the United States is directly linked to a strong and ready Navy."

It's nice to see a Tyler native is doin' East Texas proud in the Navy.  Keep those stories coming!

LOOK: 100 years of American military history

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