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Arrival of USS Carl Vinson is homecoming for two sons of Guam
More than 5,500 sailors arrived for a port call on Guam today. The aircraft carrier the USS Carl Vinson arrived in Apra Harbor just after 9 this morning. Among the men and women aboard are about a dozen sailors from Micronesia, two-thirds of which the ship's Public Affairs Office estimates are from Guam.
KUAM News had the opportunity to fly out to the Vinson Sunday afternoon and then pull into port with her this morning. Two interesting stories are those seen in one of the most junior Chamorro's aboard the Vinson, and one of her most senior.
USN Captain Pete Gumataotao is originally from Sinajana, after having graduated from the United States Naval Academy in 1981. In contrast, AN David San Luis is from Inarajan, having joined the Navy in January 2004. Captain Gumataotao holds the distinguished title of Sea Combat Commander for the Carl Vinson battle group, while San Luis, whose rank of E-3 permits him to carry out administrative work. (In his own words, he's a secretary.)
In spite of the seniority gap, the two men have more in common than being from Guam and loving Chamorro food. Both work long hours, with San Luis describing a typical day, saying, "We start our day at 6 o'clock in the morning, sometimes 5 depending on the certain criteria that we have, and we don't get off until 8 o'clock at night sometimes nine or ten depending on drills."
Both love serving their country and intend to stay in the Navy until retirement. Said Cpt. Gumataotao, "We also do not take for granted this beautiful life we have and democracy we live, it is worth giving the ultimate sacrifice and I'm not trying to say that to wave the flag, I'm saying that because I've seen a lot of places, I've been to a lot of countries and there's nothing that even comes close to our way of life."
Both are proud of the work they do to protect America and both have been recognized by the Navy for their work. Gumataotao has awards and medals to numerous to list and San Luis recently was named Sailor of the Day aboard the Vinson. The latter is proud of the accomplishment and points out that his job of keeping logs and records of all the airplanes is vital, saying, "The flight deck is basically the operations, down below we're like the brain and the back, we keep things going to provide for the air wing, we support the air wing so without us in the bottom the air wing can't fly at all. We're like the main body - we're the heart and sole of this ship."
Both San Luis and Gumataotao say they're living their dream here aboard the Vinson and Gumataotao had some sound advice for anyone when it comes to their dreams. He said, "The secret to success is your ability to stay the course and follow your dreams and never give up on yourself, never measure your success on what you wear or what position you have, the Sea Combat Commander, what does that mean to someone in Talofofo, it means nothing, success should be weighed with what legacy have you left with the people around you and with the worlds."
Both Gumataotao's and San Luis' shipmates tell KUAM News the two men are certainly leaving a legacy they and the people of Guam can be proud of.
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