CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas - A Nacogdoches, Texas, native is serving in the U.S. Navy where naval aviators learn the skills they need to fly missions around the world.
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| Photo by Stephanie Fox, Navy Office of Community Outreach |
Ensign Christian Tracy, a 2012 graduate of Woden High School and 2020 graduate of Steven F. Austin State University, joined the Navy ten years ago. Tracy served for eight years as an enlisted aviation aircrew mechanic and since serves as a pilot.
“I joined the Navy because both my grandfather and uncle served in the Navy,” said Tracy. “My grandfather was a WWII pilot and my uncle was an intelligence specialist who retired at the rank of captain. I wanted to continue the family tradition of serving our country.”
Skills and values learned in the Navy are similar to those found in Nacogdoches.
“My parents instilled in me a good work ethic and determination to be a better person,” said Tracy. “These traits have helped me succeed both professionally and personally.”
Tracy serves as a student pilot with Training Air Wing Four (TRAWING 4) located at Naval Air Station Corpus Christi, Texas. TRAWING 4 comprises four training squadrons that conduct Primary, Intermediate, and Advanced flight training for Navy, Marine Corps, and Coast Guard pilots.
“I’ve always wanted the challenge of flying,” said Tracy. "There are always new ways to learn and challenge yourself to grow as a person.”
The air training program focuses on the increased complexity of today’s aircraft. After successfully completing the rigorous program, naval aviators earn their coveted “Wings of Gold.”
After graduation, pilots continue their training to learn how to fly a specific aircraft, such as the Navy’s F/A-18 Super Hornet fighter attack jet, the F-35 Lightning strike fighter jet or the SH-60 Seahawk helicopter. These aircraft take off from and land on Navy aircraft carriers at sea.
Navy aircraft carriers are designed for a 50-year service life. When the air wing is embarked, the ship carries more than 70 attack fighter jets, helicopters and other aircraft, all of which take off from and land aboard the carrier at sea. With more than 5,000 sailors serving aboard, the aircraft carrier is a self-contained mobile airport.
Aircraft carriers are often the first response to a global crisis because of their ability to operate freely in international waters anywhere on the world’s oceans.
Since USS Langley's commissioning 100 years ago, the nation's aircraft carriers and embarked carrier air wings have projected power, sustained sea control, bolstered deterrence, provided humanitarian assistance and disaster relief, and maintained enduring commitments worldwide.
"The aircraft carrier is our U.S. Navy's centerpiece, our flagship, and a constant reminder to the rest of the world of our enduring maritime presence and influence," said Rear Adm. James P. Downey, USN, Program Executive Officer (PEO) Aircraft Carriers. "These ships touch every part of our Navy's mission to project power, ensure sea control, and deter our adversaries."
With more than 90 percent of all trade traveling by sea, and 95 percent of the world’s international phone and internet traffic carried through fiber optic cables lying on the ocean floor, Navy officials continue to emphasize that the prosperity and security of the United States is directly linked to ready sailors and a strong Navy.
“Maintaining the world’s best Navy is an investment in the security and prosperity of the United States, as well as the stability of our world,” said Adm. Mike Gilday, Chief of Naval Operations. “The U.S. Navy—forward deployed and integrated with all elements of national power—deters conflict, strengthens our alliances and partnerships, and guarantees free and open access to the world’s oceans. As the United States responds to the security environment through integrated deterrence, our Navy must continue to deploy forward and campaign with a ready, capable, combat-credible fleet.”
Serving in the Navy means Tracy is part of a team 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.
“The Navy is instrumental in maintaining the security of our oceans and protecting the ideals of freedom and democracy,” said Tracy.
Tracy has many opportunities to achieve accomplishments during military service.
“My proudest accomplishment is when I was selected to commission as a naval officer from being an enlisted sailor,” added Tracy. “It means I get to follow in my father's footsteps of being a naval aviator."
As Tracy and other sailors continue to perform missions, they take pride in serving their country in the United States Navy.