By
Navy Office of Community Outreach Public Affairs
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. - A 2014 Warner Christian Academy graduate and Daytona Beach, Florida 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.
Seaman Dillon Sharpton is a logistics specialist
serving with Commander, Patrol and Reconnaissance Wing 11.
As a logistics
specialist, Sharpton is responsible for
processing requisitions and ordering the command's mission-essential equipment.
“What I enjoy most about my job is that
I get a sense of pride knowing that the aircraft
couldn't fly without the necessary requisitions and misson-ready equipment that
I am responsible for ordering to make the aircraft fly both effectively and
efficiently,” said Sharpton.
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. “Seaman
Sharpton 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 Seaman
Sharpton on our team!"
Sharpton
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 working at this command is the great camaraderie that I share
amongst my fellow sailors and having the opportunity to travel and see the
world,” said Sharpton.
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 strengthened my integrity and the morals and values instilled
in me by the Navy has made me both an overall better sailor and man,”
said Sharpton.