Sarasota sailors deployed overseas

Two Sarasota natives are currently serving in the U.S. Navy onboard ships underway.

Airman Sujay Martinez Hipolito serves on USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN 71).

The Roosevelt is a Nimitz-class aircraft carrier.

She is deployed in the East China Sea. The ship is underway conducting operations in the U.S. 7th Fleet area of operations.

The 7th Fleet “is the U.S. Navy’s largest forward-deployed numbered fleet, and routinely interacts and operates with allies and partners in preserving a free and open Indo-Pacific region.”

Another Sarasota native, Petty Officer 3rd Class Michael Igoe, is serving aboard USS Ronald Reagan (CVN 76). He graduated from Sarasota Military Academy in 2020, according to a news release.

He works as a nuclear electronics technician.

“Growing up, I learned about the importance of working hard and putting your best foot forward,” Igoe said in the story by Petty Officer 1st Class Jerry Jimenez.

Igoe joined the Navy two years ago.

“I joined the Navy because I was inspired by my father,” he said in the news release. “He was in the Navy and he’s talked to me about the Navy since I was little.”

Igoe has achieved accomplishments during his years in the Navy so far.

“I am most proud of enduring boot camp and ‘A’ school, and making it to this point,” Igoe said.

Igoe can take pride in serving America through military service.

“Serving in the Navy means I have a chance to make something of myself,” he said. “It gives me a chance to meet people I never thought I would meet and provides opportunities to do things I never thought I would.”