By
Navy Office of Community Outreach Public Affairs
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. - A 2009 Warwick
High School graduate and Baltimore native is serving in the
U.S. Navy aboard Naval Air Station Jacksonville, the largest base in the
Southeast Region and third largest in the nation.
Petty Officer 2nd Class Tavon Jackson is an intelligence
specialist serving with Commander, Patrol and Reconnaissance Wing 11.
As an intelligence
specialist, Jackson is responsible for
intelligence and combat support.
“What I enjoy most about my job is having the opportunity to expand my skill set outside
the range of my community,” said Jackson.
According to Navy officials, Wing 11’s history and
reputation remain unparalleled since being commissioned on August 15, 1942.
Throughout the decades, Wing 11 has continued to fly combat missions in direct support of
the troops on the ground and delivered
traditional maritime capabilities, real-time intelligence, surveillance and
reconnaissance.
Beginning in the
1960s, the P-3C Orion, a land-based, long-range anti-submarine warfare patrol
aircraft, replaced the P-2V Neptune fleet. After 50 years of faithful
service and the 50th anniversary of Maritime Patrol and
Reconnaissance Force, the P-3C Orion is being phased out of the fleet,
according to Navy officials.
The P-8A is a modified Boeing airframe
featuring a fully connected, state-of-the-art, open architecture mission system
designed for long-range anti-submarine warfare; anti-surface warfare; and
intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance missions, Navy officials
explained.
"The U.S. Navy sometimes asks the
impossible of our people. It is sailors that make the impossible possible,”
said Capt. Anthony Corapi, Commodore, Patrol and Reconnaissance Wing 11. “Petty Officer
Jackson is one example of a selfless servant of our nation. These heroes ask for very little recognition
and perform their daily job with pride and professionalism defending freedom
and our way of life around the world.
Each member of the Navy's combat team is crucial to our success. I am
very proud to have Petty Officer Jackson
on our team!"
Jackson
is part of a crew that began a transition to the P-8A Poseidon in 2014. Earlier
this year, squadron VP-45 entered the Inter-Deployment Readiness Cycle in
preparation for their first deployment as a P-8A squadron.
“What I enjoy most about this command
is the cohesiveness and camaraderie I share
amongst my fellow sailors and other patrol squadrons here on base,” said
Jackson.
According to Navy officials, the Navy
continues to meet milestone after milestone on this world-class mission and is
providing an aircraft with superior capabilities to the men and women in
uniform that will have a lasting legacy promoting a global maritime strategy.
“Serving
in the Navy has not only made me more mature but I've gained a skill set as
well,” said Jacskson. “I also love having the opportunity to travel and
experience different cultures.”