Filipino sailor serves aboard USS Reagan
MANILA, Philippines — Hailing from Olongapo City, Neil Genesis Ortiguerra now serves as a 3rd Class Aircrew Survival Equipmentman at the USS Ronald Reagan.
The USS Ronald Reagan is a nuclear-powered aircraft carrier under the United States Navy. It serves as the US Navy’s first responder in times of emergency or crisis.
The carrier also “provides a combat-ready force that protects and defends the United States, and supports alliances, partnerships and collective maritime interests in the Indo-Pacific region.”
In a photo released on July 20, Ortiguerra, now assigned to the Tigertails of Strike Fighter Squadron, was seen refilling an emergency air canister aboard the USS Ronald Reagan in the Indian Ocean.
Aside from Ortiguerra, another sailor from the Philippines directs aircraft on the flight deck aboard USS Ronald Reagan in the Indian Ocean, Aviation Boatswain’s Mate (Aircraft Handling) 1st Class Michael Angelo Smith, from Cebu. This was reported in a July 19 photo release.
USS Ronald Reagan (CVN 76), the flagship of Carrier Strike Group 5, is the only forward-deployed aircraft carrier.
The carrier also arrived on Philippine shores in October last year. Among its agenda is the rest and recreation of its troops whose members included many Filipinos.
Its visit to the country signaled a strengthened alliance between the Philippines and the US after diplomatic ties between the two countries got tested under the Duterte administration.
Despite previous animosity between the Marcoses and the USS’ namesake, the Philippines has been more open to resuming joint patrols with the US in the contested West Philippine Sea. —intern, Ingrid Alexandrea Delgado
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