One of the great rewards on a ship is when you pull into a foreign port and you get to go on what's called liberty. You get to go out in town in a foreign port and meet a lot of incredibly interesting people and do fun things.

My favorite port city is Hong Kong. Hong Kong is an incredible city. The malls are interconnected from the different buildings with crosswalks over the streets, very high tech.

When I was stationed in the Philippines virtually everybody there enjoyed it. Very friendly people, a lot of fun things to do. The Philippines is very close to a tropical paradise.

The Navy has really helped me understand how the entire world is. Many people who live in the United States don't understand how it is in other countries. When you're in the Navy, you have a chance to see all that.

One of the things that shocked me the most when I was in the Navy and I visited other countries was how good people in the United States really do have life.

I before took it for granted that I could get in a car and drive to work, that I could go to a grocery store and buy everything I needed at one or two stores.

Since I've been in the Navy, I've been in Japan, Philippines, Indonesia, Hong Kong, Singapore, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Africa, just thinking of a few.