By
Navy Office of Community Outreach Public Affairs
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. - A 1998 Sapulpa
High School graduate and Sapulpa, Oklahoma 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.
Chief Michael Oldham is a naval air crewman (operator)
serving with Commander, Patrol and Reconnaissance Wing 11.
A naval air crewman is
responsible for leading and training sailors while maintaining the overall
safety of flights and bringing the crew back safe from missions.
“I enjoy my job because I am able to
affect sailors' lives,” said Oldham. “I am able to mold and lead them into
having successful careers and lives and it is rewarding to see them excel.”
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. “Chief Oldham 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 Chief Oldham on our team!"
Oldham 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.
“The people I get to work with make
this command great,” said Oldham. “The familiarity and comfort that we have here is influential to the success of this command.”
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.
“Overall the Navy has taught me
responsibility and better leadership,” said Oldham. “It gives me pride to be a
part of this great war fighting machine called the U.S. Navy.”