Jacksonville Naval Aviators and Aircrew Visit Local High School

By Kaylee LaRocque, Naval Air Station Jacksonville Public Affairs

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (NNS) -- Three women naval aviators from Patrol Squadron Thirty visited Nease High School in Ponte Vedra, Fla., as part of Naval Air Station Jacksonville's Centennial of Naval Aviation activities, May 13.

The team consisting of P-3 Orion Pilot Lt. Leigh Shannon, Naval Flight Officer (NFO) Lt. Julia Feys and Naval Aircrewman 1st Class Katherine Cary, spent nearly two hours talking about their backgrounds, education and career paths to NJROTC students at the school.

Shannon kicked off the presentation by asking the students how many had family in the military and if they were interested in joining one of the armed services. She also asked how many wanted to fly aircraft and if they liked traveling. Many of the students raised their hands to each question.

After a short video about naval aviation, the team of aviators introduced themselves.

"I graduated high school in a small town in New Hampshire. I wasn't sure what I wanted to do after high school and then I learned about the Naval Academy and that I could go there and learn to fly airplanes. I also grew up surfing and learned that most of the time people in the Navy were stationed by the water. So I decided to join," Shannon told the students. "I finished college and headed to flight school. During my career so far, I've flown five different aircraft and been all over the world. I'm a pilot at VP-30 right now but am soon headed back to Hawaii."

Cary also discussed her background and how she chose her career.

"I'm from a small town in Wisconsin and was working in a movie theater while attending college. I decided I wanted to do something different so I joined the Navy in 2001. After boot camp, I got orders to fly on planes in Bahrain. I was 19 at the time," she said.

"I have travelled to a lot of really cool places including Egypt, Japan, Thailand, Afghanistan, Iraq and some places that probably no one has heard of. I was also stationed in Hawaii with Lt. Shannon and them we both ended up here. I love flying on the P-3's and being part of the aircrew team," continued Cary. "I'm also working on my college degree and the Navy is paying for most of it."

Feys also talked about her job as an NFO and why she joined the Navy.

"I'm from a town near Detroit, Mich. I graduated from high school and was working at a VFW hall and decided to check out the Naval Academy. It was free and I wanted to leave Michigan. So I was accepted, graduated with a degree in computer science and became an NFO," said Feys.

"After lots of training, I went to Whidbey Island, Wash., for my first tour in a P-3 squadron. We went to a lot of really great places. Then, I came back here and am soon transferring to Dallas to conduct testing on aircraft. When I first began working as an NFO, I was the navigator working the GPS and computers. I was also in charge of communications. Then I trained to become a tactical coordinator which means I basically had to learn about the whole aircraft. My favorite part is tracking submarines," continued Feys.