Photo by Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Tim Miller
LEMOORE, Calif.- A 2011 Mount Vernon High School graduate and Mount Vernon, Washington, native is currently serving with a U.S. Navy strike fighter squadron which flies one of the world’s most advanced warplanes.
Petty Officer 3rd Class Joseph Seaman is an aviation structural mechanic with the Tophatters of VFA 14, which operates out of Naval Air Station Lemoore. A Navy aviation structural mechanic is responsible for maintaining hydraulics and the structure of the aircraft. “I am a military brat,” Seaman said. “Joining the Navy seemed like a natural choice for me.”
Members of VFA 14 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.”
Seaman has military ties with family members who have previously served and is honored to carry on the family tradition.
“My dad was a chief aviation electrician’s mate in the Navy,” said Seaman. “He talked to me about what the Navy could offer me and that it would be a good fit for me. He pushed it so I could get my college degree too.”
Seaman is also proud of earning a Navy Achievement Medal for outstanding performance on a material control inspection of the aircraft.
As a member of one of the U.S. Navy’s most relied-upon assets, Seaman and other sailors know they are part of a legacy that will last beyond their lifetimes providing the Navy the nation needs.
“Serving in the Navy means a lot because besides my dad, I have an uncle and grandfather that served in the Navy,” Seaman said. “It's not only in our name, but it is in our blood. We have all been sailors and I am carrying on a family tradition by serving.”