Greensburg Navy vet helps sweep for mines in the Pacific Ocean

Marc Hoffman of Greensburg wanted travel and see the world, so he joined the Navy.

These days, he helps patrol a 124-million-square-mile area stretching from the International Date Line to the India/Pakistan border, and from the Kuril Islands near Japan and Russia all the way to the Antarctic in the south.

Hoffman’s job? Clearing mines.

Hoffman serves aboard an Avenger-class mine countermeasures ship, the USS Warrior, tasked to search and dispose of enemy mines in one of the world’s busiest maritime regions as part of U.S. 7th Fleet out of Sasebo, Japan.

“My job is rigging up mine sweeps to hunt and neutralize mines in ocean waters,” said Hoffman, a 2012 Hempfield graduate.

The U.S. 7th Fleet’s area of operations encompasses 36 maritime countries and 50 percent of the world’s population with between 50-70 U.S. ships and submarines, 140 aircraft, and approximately 20,000 sailors.

With more than 50% of the world’s shipping tonnage and a third of the world’s crude oil passing through the region, the United States has historic and enduring interests in this part of the world. The Navy’s presence in Sasebo is part of that long-standing commitment, explained Navy officials.The USS Warrior is 224 feet long, 39 feet wide and weighs over 1,300 tons. Four diesel engines, designed to have very low magnetic and acoustic signatures, help push the ship through the water at 16 miles per hour.

Hoffman is finishing training to receive his enlisted surface warfare qualification.

“I’ve only been on the ship for five months now and to achieve something like that, is hard to do,” Hoffman said. “It takes many hours of studying. The thing that I’m most proud of is that I am able to keep a good mental state while I study for this and at the same time work the hours we do. It’s difficult to find the time sometimes.”

As a member of one of the U.S. Navy’s most relied upon assets, Hoffman and other sailors know they are part of a legacy that will last beyond their lifetimes.

“Serving to me is ensuring that our country is kept the way our founding fathers had promised that made our country great,” said Hoffman. “That means doing my part to help keep our people free. I feel it’s my duty to help protect our freedom.”