OAK HARBOR, Wash. – Petty Officer 2nd Class Nicholas Foskette, a native of Moreno Valley, California, joined the Navy for adventure and opportunity.
“I originally wanted to be a rescue swimmer because I liked the opportunity, but I became an aircrewman, which is a fun job,” said Foskette.
Now, six years after joining the Navy, Foskette serves with the “World Watchers” of Fleet Air Reconnaissance Squadron One (VQ-1), working with the Navy’s premier intelligence-gathering aircraft at Naval Air Station Whidbey Island, Washington.
“Our job here is very simple at times, but at other times can be complicated, depending on the maintenance requirements,” said Foskette.
Foskette, a 2012 graduate of Marino Valley High School, is a naval aircrewman with VQ-1, a state-of-the-art intelligence-gathering squadron flying the EP-3 “Aires,” a variant of the venerable P-3C “Orion.”
“I perform in-flight maintenance on the aircraft's avionics systems,” said Foskette.
Foskette credits success in the Navy to many of the lessons learned in Moreno Valley.
“I was on the swim team, as well as JROTC in high school,” said Foskette. “I was taught military core values early on, and that has carried me into the military.”
Members of VQ-1 conduct reconnaissance as well as intelligence-gathering missions. They deploy around the world to monitor the world’s oceans wherever they are needed.
The EP-3 “Aires” is a land-based, long-range, signals intelligence-gathering aircraft. It is a variant of the P-3C “Orion,” which has been in operation since the 1960s. They are still in service and performing missions all over the world.
Serving in the Navy means Foskette is part of a world that is taking on new importance in America’s focus on rebuilding military readiness, strengthening alliances and reforming business practices in support of the National Defense Strategy.
A key element of the Navy the nation needs is tied to the fact that America is a maritime nation, 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.
“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.”
Though there are many ways for sailors to earn distinction in their command, community, and career, Foskette is most proud of becoming qualified on the EP-3 platform.
“I joined the Navy to work on aircraft, so being able to get qualified to do that makes me very proud,” said Foskette.
As a member of one of the U.S. Navy’s most relied upon assets, Foskette and other sailors know they are part of a legacy that will last beyond their lifetimes contributing to the Navy the nation needs.
“I'm pretty proud of myself for joining the Navy and becoming an aircrewman,” said Foskette. “Not a lot of people do it, it's hard to get in, but I can say I did it.”
“I originally wanted to be a rescue swimmer because I liked the opportunity, but I became an aircrewman, which is a fun job,” said Foskette.
Now, six years after joining the Navy, Foskette serves with the “World Watchers” of Fleet Air Reconnaissance Squadron One (VQ-1), working with the Navy’s premier intelligence-gathering aircraft at Naval Air Station Whidbey Island, Washington.
“Our job here is very simple at times, but at other times can be complicated, depending on the maintenance requirements,” said Foskette.
Foskette, a 2012 graduate of Marino Valley High School, is a naval aircrewman with VQ-1, a state-of-the-art intelligence-gathering squadron flying the EP-3 “Aires,” a variant of the venerable P-3C “Orion.”
“I perform in-flight maintenance on the aircraft's avionics systems,” said Foskette.
Foskette credits success in the Navy to many of the lessons learned in Moreno Valley.
“I was on the swim team, as well as JROTC in high school,” said Foskette. “I was taught military core values early on, and that has carried me into the military.”
Members of VQ-1 conduct reconnaissance as well as intelligence-gathering missions. They deploy around the world to monitor the world’s oceans wherever they are needed.
The EP-3 “Aires” is a land-based, long-range, signals intelligence-gathering aircraft. It is a variant of the P-3C “Orion,” which has been in operation since the 1960s. They are still in service and performing missions all over the world.
Serving in the Navy means Foskette is part of a world that is taking on new importance in America’s focus on rebuilding military readiness, strengthening alliances and reforming business practices in support of the National Defense Strategy.
A key element of the Navy the nation needs is tied to the fact that America is a maritime nation, 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.
“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.”
Though there are many ways for sailors to earn distinction in their command, community, and career, Foskette is most proud of becoming qualified on the EP-3 platform.
“I joined the Navy to work on aircraft, so being able to get qualified to do that makes me very proud,” said Foskette.
As a member of one of the U.S. Navy’s most relied upon assets, Foskette and other sailors know they are part of a legacy that will last beyond their lifetimes contributing to the Navy the nation needs.
“I'm pretty proud of myself for joining the Navy and becoming an aircrewman,” said Foskette. “Not a lot of people do it, it's hard to get in, but I can say I did it.”