Photo by Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Tim Miller
LEMOORE, Calif.- A 2011 Summit Leadership Academy graduate and Victorville, California, native is currently serving with a U.S. Navy strike fighter squadron which flies one of the world’s most advanced warplanes.
Airman Christopher Hunter is an aviation ordnanceman with the Warhawks of VFA 97, which operates out of Naval Air Station Lemoore. A Navy aviation ordnanceman is responsible for maintaining the armament computer, which is the brain of the weapons systems of the jet, and acts as a plane captain that recovers and launches the aircraft making sure it is safe for flight.“I was taught to respect everyone,” Hunter said. “It’s important to take into consideration how other people think. I was also taught that no matter what don't give up and finish what you started, which is important in the Navy.”
Members of VFA 97 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.”
Hunter has military ties with family members who serve and is honored to begin a family tradition.
“My brother Jordan is in the National Guard and my brother Tyler works in the nuclear in the Navy,” said Hunter. “I had influence on their decision to join. I left home at 18 and went to college, I was homeless for a while and I didn’t like the job I had. They saw what I was doing after I joined and was making something of myself. They decided to follow suit.”
As a member of one of the U.S. Navy’s most relied-upon assets, Hunter 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 is a humbling experience,” Hunter said. “It makes me feel like I am doing my part to protect my family, friends and those I don't know. It is a lot of hard work but worth it in the end.”