LEMOORE, Calif. - Every sailor’s story of naval service is unique. For Petty Officer 1st Class Tyler Donovan, this story has ties to Maple Valley, Washington, where skills and values learned there are foundational to success in the Navy.
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| Photo by Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Mitch Meppelink |
“Growing up, for all aspects of my family, it was important to them that we take pride in our family, have strong family values and take ownership of what we did,” Donovan said. “I also worked as a lifeguard at Lake Wilderness, where we worked as a team with the other lifeguards and later helped run that team. It helped me see both sides of leadership and structured how I performed in the Navy. It’s helped me advance quickly and fill positions normally held by senior sailors at a younger age.”
Donovan graduated from Tahoma High School in 2016.
Donovan joined the Navy eight years ago.
“I’d always known from a young age that I wanted to perform some kind of service,” Donovan said. “For me, joining the Navy was a family thing; my grandfather, uncles, and extended family and friends had served. I’ve been around quite a few people in the services, and I always took an interest in aviation. Joining the Navy combined the opportunity to serve, to learn a trade and the chance to be around aircraft.”
Today, Donovan serves as an aviation electronics technician and is an instructor at the Center for Naval Aviation Technical Training Unit Lemoore onboard Naval Air Station (NAS) Lemoore.
NAS Lemoore is home to Commander Strike Fighter Wing Pacific and Commander Joint Strike Fighter Wing. More than half of the Navy’s F/A-18E/F Super Hornet aircraft reside here, and it is the only Navy installation to house the F-35C Lightning II.
Carrier strike groups and the embarked aviation squadrons are the cornerstone of U.S. naval power projection and sea power. They can quickly maneuver thousands of miles with the world’s most capable warships and top-notch sailors, remaining on station in areas of interest without relying on land bases or overflight agreements. U.S. Navy aircraft carriers are the most adaptable, lethal and survivable airfields in the world and their presence serves as the most credible commitment to our allies and partners.
Naval aviation provides the Navy and our nation with a flexible, adaptable, and lethal force to preserve peace, respond in crises and win decisively in combat. The U.S. Navy maintains and operates more than 2,000 aircraft to fulfill various mission sets in order to preserve the American way of life and ensure freedom, security and prosperity.
With 90% of global commerce traveling by sea and access to the internet relying on the security of undersea fiber-optic cables, Navy officials continue to emphasize that the prosperity of the United States is directly linked to recruiting and retaining talented people from across the rich fabric of America.
Donovan has many opportunities to achieve accomplishments during military service.
“I’m most proud of filling the position as a lead petty officer for the avionics workcenter for Strike Fighter Squadron 102 in Iwakuni, Japan,” Donovan said. “I led that team on a deployment, through a transition to a new aircraft from the Block II to the Block III, and we introduced an experimental program to the fleet that no other fleet squadron had done or used before. I received a Navy Commendation Medal for my work in that experimental program. It’s probably the highest award that I’ll receive in my naval career. I did all of that when I was at my five-year mark in the Navy.”
Donovan serves a Navy that operates far forward, around the world and around the clock, promoting the nation’s prosperity and security.
This year, the Navy is commemorating its contribution to the nation’s defense as the United States celebrates 250 years of independence. According to Navy officials, for more than 250 years, the Navy has sailed the globe defending freedom and protecting prosperity. More information is available here: https://www.navy.mil/navy-250/
“Serving in the Navy gives me the opportunity to provide for my family but also allows me to give back to the community and to the country that has given us all the opportunities we’ve been afforded,” Donovan said.
Donovan is grateful to others for helping make a Navy career possible.
“I want to thank my wife, Kelsey,” Donovan said. “She’s as much in the Navy as I am. She’s been the support structure who has made every accolade I’ve received in the Navy possible. I’ve been deployed a lot, but she kept our family moving. She raised our daughter and son while still motivating and supporting me while we were underway, working 13 to 14 hours a day, seven days a week.”