By
Navy Office of Community Outreach Public Affairs
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. - A 1997 Valdosta
High School graduate and Valdosta, Georgia 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 Sherri Quimby is a yeoman serving with
Commander, Patrol and Reconnaissance Wing 11.
A Navy yeoman is responsible for
correspondence, pay and travel for sailors throughout the command.
“I enjoy the customer service aspect of
my job,” said Quimby. “My work center is the first stop when sailors check in,
so we are responsible for setting the standard of the command.”
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 Quimby 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 Quimby on our team!"
Quimby 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 the up-tempo and fast pace atmosphere of
this command,” said Quimby. “Working at this command I gain a sense of
importance and responsibility because our mission is essential to everybody in
the fleet.”
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.
“The Navy has helped me gain confidence
in my abilities,” said Quimby. “I have gained a sense of responsibility and
integrity because junior sailors are always looking up to me as an example.”