By
Navy Office of Community Outreach Public Affairs
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. - A 2003 ThunderRidge
High School graduate and Highlands Ranch,
Colorado 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 1st Class
Jason Lankhorst
is a naval air crewman serving with
Commander, Patrol and Reconnaissance Wing 11.
As a naval
air crewman, Lankhorst is responsible for flying
P-8A Poseidons and tracking submarines.
“I enjoy
the dynamics and the challenge of maintaining submarine contact when I'm up
against a submarine skipper,” said Lankhorst.
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
Lankhorst 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 Lankhorst
on our team!"
Lankhorst
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.
“I enjoy serving at this command
because they expect nothing but excellence, they
know how to raise the bar and set high standards throughout the fleet,”
said Lankhorst.
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 taught me leadership, responsibility and sacrifices,”
said Lankhorst.