Photo by Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Tim Miller
LEMOORE, Calif.- A 2006 Yosemite High School graduate and Coarsegold, California, native is currently serving with a U.S. Navy strike fighter squadron which flies one of the world’s most advanced warplanes.
Petty Officer 2nd Class Gregory Choate is an aircrew survival equipmentman with the Fighting Redcocks of VFA 22, which operates out of Naval Air Station Lemoore. A Navy aircrew survival equipmentman is responsible for taking care of oxygen systems, survival gear, antigravity suits, and flight clothing. “I grew up in a mountain town with country living where we were taught to work hard,” Choate said. “Our dedication to get things done in the Navy is important. I always find a way to get the job done.”
Members of VFA 22 work with the F/A 18 Super Hornet, one of the most advanced aircraft in the world. The Super Hornet takes off from and lands on Navy aircraft carriers at sea and is capable of conducting air-to-air combat as well as striking targets on land. It is approximately 61 feet long, has a loaded weight of 51,000 lbs., and a max speed of 1,190 miles per hour.
Operating from sea aboard aircraft carriers, the Super Hornet gives the Navy the power to protect America’s interests anywhere, at any time. The versatile jet has the ability to destroy targets located hundreds of miles inland, without the need to get another country’s permission to operate within its borders.
“Strike Fighter Wing, U. S. Pacific Fleet, based at Naval Air Station Lemoore, California, is the heart of Naval Aviation,” said Capt. James S. Bates, Deputy Commodore, Strike Fighter Wing, U.S. Pacific. “The sailors assigned to SFWP always exceed expectations and produce amazing results through team work and dedication to their department, squadron, the U.S. Navy and their family. Naval Aviation is a challenging occupation, but our sailors work day in and day out to provide fully mission capable aircraft and fully qualified aircrew to ensure leadership is able to answer national level tasking. I am humbled to be able to lead the sailors of SFWP and I am proud to call Lemoore my home.”
As a member of one of the U.S. Navy’s most relied-upon assets, Choate and other sailors know they are part of a legacy that will last beyond their lifetimes providing the Navy the nation needs.
“We are the best squadron on base,” said Choate. “There is a great family atmosphere and good camaraderie. You can tell they care. We take care of each other,”
Choate is proud of earning a Navy Achievement Medal and being selected as the Sailor of the Quarter in 2018 for being the leading petty officer maintaining all 40 aircrew survival equipment spaces.
“Serving in the Navy means that I am making sure everyone is safe at home,” Choate said. “It means that my family is well taken care of.”