A 2012 Bowman High School graduate and Valencia native is serving on USS Donald Cook, living and working at a Navy base in Rota, Spain.

Petty Officer 3rd Class Jayadev Ferrer-soscia is an electrician’s mate on the Rota, Spain-based ship. Rota is located near the Strait of Gibraltar, the entryway into the Mediterranean Sea from the Atlantic Ocean.

“I love fixing stuff and having a hands-on type of job,” said Ferrer-soscia. “It’s pretty fun. I never thought I’d be doing a job like this after high school in another country like Spain.”

USS Donald Cook is 505 feet long, almost the length of two football fields. The ship is 66 feet wide and weighs more than 9,200 tons. Twin gas-turbine engines can push the ship through the water at more than 30 mph.

USS Donald Cook is an Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer that has been outfitted with an Aegis ballistic missile defense capability that enables the ship to conduct long-range surveillance, tracking, and engagement of short and medium-range ballistic missiles.

Only 15 other destroyers in the Navy have been outfitted with the Aegis BMD system.

As a sailor with numerous responsibilities, Ferrer-soscia said he is learning about himself as a leader, sailor and a person.

“I’m more driven to do things,” said Ferrer-sosia. “I now have goals in life that I want to accomplish, and I’m getting them done.”

USS Donald Cook was commissioned in 1998 and is named in honor of U.S. Marine Corps officer and Medal of Honor recipient Donald Cook; a Vietnam prisoner of war who died in captivity.

With approximately 30 officers and 250 enlisted comprising the ship’s company, jobs are highly varied which keeps the ship mission ready — this includes everything from washing dishes and preparing meals to handling weaponry and maintaining the propulsion system.

Ferrer-sosia also said he is proud of the work he is doing as part of the Cook’s crew, protecting America on the world’s oceans.

“I love to travel,” Ferrer-soscia explained. “We’re forward deployed, so we are always moving. I’ve been to at least 10 countries.”

Assigned to U.S. 6th Fleet, USS Donald Cook sailors are on watch throughout the European region and are important assets supporting President Obama’s European Phased Adaptive Approach to enhance the security of that area of the world from ballistic missile threats originating in the Middle East.

In addition to USS Donald Cook, two other BMD capable ships are forwarded deployed in Rota: USS Porter and USS Ross. A fourth, USS Carney, will arrive in the fall.

Having four destroyers based in Rota gives the U.S. 6th Fleet flexibility to send these ships to a variety of locations for a range of missions, while at the same time providing a large umbrella of protection for European allies.

“Our Navy presence has to be where it matters and we have to be there when it matters. I am so proud and amazed by the knowledge Cook sailors display and the work they do every day,” said Cmdr. Charles E. Hampton, the ship’s commanding officer. “Their professionalism, motivation and commitment to the Navy are genuinely inspiring.”

In addition to missile defense, the forward-deployed, BMD-capable destroyers conduct a myriad of tasks that include the full range of maritime security operations, bilateral and multilateral training exercises, and NATO operations and deployments.

Destroyers are one of the most versatile ships. Fast, maneuverable, and technically advanced, they provide the required warfighting capabilities and operational flexibility to execute multi-mission evolutions such as surface warfare, anti-submarine warfare and anti-air warfare.

USS Donald Cook can operate independently or as part of carrier strike groups, surface action groups, amphibious ready groups, and underway replenishment groups.

As a member of one of the U.S. Navy’s most versatile combat ships, Ferrer-sosia and other USS Donald Cook sailors know they are part of a forward-deployed naval forces team that is heavily relied upon to help protect and defend America on the world’s oceans.

“I can see around the world that what we do makes a difference,” said Ferrer-sosia.

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.