By
Navy Office of Community Outreach Public Affairs
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. - A 2008 Kittitas
High School graduate and Kittitas, Washington 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.
Lt. j. g. Adam Lang is a pilot serving with
Commander, Patrol and Reconnaissance Wing 11.
A Navy pilot is responsible for the
safe operation of the P-8A Poseidon to complete missions in ant-submarine
warfare and maritime surveillance.
“My job is exciting, rewarding,
exhilarating and unique because I am able to fly a multi-million dollar
aircraft 200 feet above the ocean protecting my country,” said Lang.
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. “Lt. j. g. Lang 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 Lt. j. g. Lang on our
team!"
Lang 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.
“At this command we hold ourselves to a
higher standard,” said Lang. “We perform at the highest level and support one
another in accomplishing missions, goals and in our personal lives.”
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.
“Since joining the Navy I have learned
to understand what really matters,” said Lang. “When we are flying in the
middle of the night, halfway across the world, it puts things in perspective.
You really understand what’s at stake and the lives that are in your hands and
gives you a sense of responsibility unlike anything else.”