Photo by Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Tim Miller
VIRGINIA BEACH, Va.- A 2011 St. Joseph High School graduate and Westchester, Illinois, 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 Brianna Thomas is an aircrew survival equipmentman with the Gladiators of VFA 106, which operates out of Naval Air Station Oceana.
A Navy aircrew survival equipmentman is responsible for making sure pilots are safe and maintaining aircrew gear to ensure they fit properly.
Thomas credits success in the Navy to many of the lessons learned growing up in Westchester.
“I was taught the importance of honesty and commitment growing up,” said Thomas. “With my job, being honest is key. If I am not honest in what I do, I could send a pilot out with faulty equipment. Commitment is important because the Navy is a lifestyle that you have to standfast in.”
Members of VFA 106 fly and maintain 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 pounds, 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. Super Hornets are an all-weather aircraft used as an attack aircraft as well as a fighter. In its fighter mode, the F/A-18 is used primarily as a fighter escort and for fleet air defense; in its attack mode, it is used for interdiction and air support.
“I like being able to have daily interactions with the pilots while serving here,” said Thomas. “To me it means a lot because at my last command I was only working on the equipment, but here I actually get to interact with the pilots and even their families. It makes me want to ensure that the job I am doing is done properly. I want them to come back to their families every time they take flight.”
A key element of the Navy the nation needs is tied to the fact that America is a maritime nation, according to Navy officials, and that the nation’s prosperity is tied to the ability to operate freely on the world’s oceans. More than 70 percent of the Earth’s surface is covered by water; 80 percent of the world’s population lives close to a coast; and 90 percent of all global trade by volume travels by sea.
Thomas is playing an important part in America’s focus on rebuilding military readiness, strengthening alliances and reforming business practices in support of National Defense Strategy.
“Our priorities center on people, capabilities and processes, and will be achieved by our focus on speed, value, results and partnerships,” said Secretary of the Navy Richard V. Spencer. “Readiness, lethality and modernization are the requirements driving these priorities.”
Serving in the Navy is a continuing tradition of military service for Thomas, who has military ties with family members who have previously served. Thomas is honored to carry on the family tradition.
“My husband serves in the Navy and my grandfather was in the Army,” said Thomas.
As a member of one of the U.S. Navy’s most relied-upon assets, Thomas 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 I am doing my part for my country,” added Thomas.
A Navy aircrew survival equipmentman is responsible for making sure pilots are safe and maintaining aircrew gear to ensure they fit properly.
Thomas credits success in the Navy to many of the lessons learned growing up in Westchester.
“I was taught the importance of honesty and commitment growing up,” said Thomas. “With my job, being honest is key. If I am not honest in what I do, I could send a pilot out with faulty equipment. Commitment is important because the Navy is a lifestyle that you have to standfast in.”
Members of VFA 106 fly and maintain 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 pounds, 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. Super Hornets are an all-weather aircraft used as an attack aircraft as well as a fighter. In its fighter mode, the F/A-18 is used primarily as a fighter escort and for fleet air defense; in its attack mode, it is used for interdiction and air support.
“I like being able to have daily interactions with the pilots while serving here,” said Thomas. “To me it means a lot because at my last command I was only working on the equipment, but here I actually get to interact with the pilots and even their families. It makes me want to ensure that the job I am doing is done properly. I want them to come back to their families every time they take flight.”
A key element of the Navy the nation needs is tied to the fact that America is a maritime nation, according to Navy officials, and that the nation’s prosperity is tied to the ability to operate freely on the world’s oceans. More than 70 percent of the Earth’s surface is covered by water; 80 percent of the world’s population lives close to a coast; and 90 percent of all global trade by volume travels by sea.
Thomas is playing an important part in America’s focus on rebuilding military readiness, strengthening alliances and reforming business practices in support of National Defense Strategy.
“Our priorities center on people, capabilities and processes, and will be achieved by our focus on speed, value, results and partnerships,” said Secretary of the Navy Richard V. Spencer. “Readiness, lethality and modernization are the requirements driving these priorities.”
Serving in the Navy is a continuing tradition of military service for Thomas, who has military ties with family members who have previously served. Thomas is honored to carry on the family tradition.
“My husband serves in the Navy and my grandfather was in the Army,” said Thomas.
As a member of one of the U.S. Navy’s most relied-upon assets, Thomas 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 I am doing my part for my country,” added Thomas.