Tacoma Native Serves with U.S. Navy Hospital Half a World Away in Guam

Cmdr. Aaron Roberton is a chaplain, responsible for providing pastoral care to the staff and patients of the hospital.

“I serve as the commanding officers advisor for morale, religious support and ethics,” said Roberton. “I ensure the free exercise of religion by out-patients and staff.”

Roberton credits success in the Navy to many of the lessons learned in Tacoma.

“I learned the importance of putting people first and treating people as individuals,” said Roberton.

Naval Hospital Guam is comprised of the main hospital in Agana Heights and two branch clinics, medical and dental, on Naval Base Guam. The hospital’s staff consists of 516 active duty and 201 civilians, contractors, reservists and volunteers who serve more than 26,000 beneficiaries.

According to officials at the U.S. Navy’s Pacific Fleet headquarters in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, the ships, submarines, aircraft and Navy personnel forward-deployed to Guam are part of the world’s largest fleet command and serve in a region critical to U.S. national security. The U.S. Pacific Fleet encompasses 100 million square miles, nearly half the Earth’s surface, from Antarctica to the Arctic Circle and from the West Coast of the United States into the Indian Ocean. All told, there are more than 200 ships and submarines, nearly 1,200 aircraft, and more than 130,000 uniformed and civilian personnel serving in the Pacific.

“My favorite part of being stationed in Guam is the importance of family,” Roberton said. “My church, the locals and my coworkers are embraced as family.”

Serving in the Navy means Roberton is part of a world that is taking on new importance in America’s focus on rebuilding military readiness, strengthening alliances and reforming business practices in support of the National Defense Strategy.

A key element of the Navy the nation needs is tied to the fact that America is a maritime nation, and that the nation’s prosperity is tied to the ability to operate freely on the world’s oceans. More than 70 percent of the Earth’s surface is covered by water; 80 percent of the world’s population lives close to a coast; and 90 percent of all global trade by volume travels by sea.

“Our priorities center on people, capabilities and processes, and will be achieved by our focus on speed, value, results and partnerships,” said Secretary of the Navy Richard V. Spencer. “Readiness, lethality and modernization are the requirements driving these priorities.”

Though there are many ways for sailors to earn distinction in their command, community, and career, Roberton is most proud serving in Iraq with the 3rd Battalion 5th Marines. He was the leader of the project Almahabe Wa A Salaam Mashru, which translates into the Love and Peace Project.

“I spent my time working with the local Imams in spreading peace and love,” said Roberton.

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

“The challenges of Naval service are many,” added Roberton. “This creates a large pool of opportunity for pastoral care ministry and to truly test myself. Succeeding in the Navy means truly succeeding.”