Photo by Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Tim Miller
LEMOORE, Calif.- A 2011 Athens Drive High School graduate and Raleigh, North Carolina, 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 Michael McLean is an aviation ordnanceman with the Tophatters of VFA 14, which operates out of Naval Air Station Lemoore. A Navy aviation ordnanceman is responsible for uploading and downloading ordnance on the aircraft. “In Raleigh, I was taught to stay humble,” McLean said. “It has helped me further with what I am expecting out of the Navy. I work harder for things so that I can achieve them.”
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.”
As a member of one of the U.S. Navy’s most relied-upon assets, McLean and other sailors know they are part of a legacy that will last beyond their lifetimes providing the Navy the nation needs.
“I like the people I work with,” said McLean. “The people I serve with are my family away from my family.”
McLean is also proud of earning a Navy Achievement Medal for going above and beyond job expectations from July 2016 to February 2017.
“Serving in the Navy is a way for me to get my life on track,” McLean said. “It has helped me set better goals for myself.”