By
Navy Office of Community Outreach Public Affairs
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. - A 2013 Grayslake
High School graduate in Grayslake, Illinois and Lithia, Florida
resident, 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 3rd Class Connor Grimes
is an avaiation
electrician's mate serving with Commander, Patrol and Reconnaissance Wing
11.
A Navy avaiation electrician's mate is
responsible for the electrical system of the aircraft.
“What I like the most about working in
this command and this platform is the fact that electricity runs all through
the P-8A so I have knowledge throughout the plane,” said Grimes.
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 Grimes 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 Grimes on our
team!"
Grimes 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 like the most about the command is the
professionalism and training," said Grimes. "We are
held to a higher standard."
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.
“My parents were both military so I was
raised in that environment and already disciplined and ready for the Navy,”
said Grimes.