Cactus High grad from Glendale earns new Navy rank

Petty Officer 1st Class Christopher Pele, a 2017 Cactus High School graduate and native of Glendale, was recently promoted while serving aboard the U.S. Navy warship USS Halsey, operating out of San Diego.

Pele was promoted in his eighth year in the Navy.

"My friends and family continue to drive me to work harder every day. I am proud of what I do and the sacrifices I make," Pele stated in a press release.

Pele serves as a fire controlman responsible for operating combat and weapons direction systems, conducting ordnance handling operations and performing maintenance on digital computer equipment.

USS Halsey is an Arleigh-Burke class guided-missile destroyer. It is the second ship to be named after Adm. William Halsey, Jr. The ship is equipped with tomahawk missiles, torpedoes, guns and a phalanx close-in weapons system.