The nearest ocean to Humboldt, Tennessee, is about 861 miles away; the town sits approximately halfway between Memphis and Nashville and has a population of 8,199 as of 2018, according to the Census Bureau. But it has a connection to the U.S. Navy.

Humboldt is the hometown to a U.S. Naval Academy graduate, U.S. Navy Fighter Weapons School (TOPGUN)-trained, Commanding Officer of Strike Fighter Squadron (VFA) 143, Cmdr. Justin Allen.

Allen was a participant in “SHIP2SHORE: From the sea while you’re safe at home”, a Navy Community Outreach (NAVCO) initiative meant to reconstruct cancelled Navy Weeks, due to Coronavirus mitigation efforts, and supplement future Navy Weeks with educational content.  

During the segment, which will be posted to Navy Outreach social media in the last week of April 2020, Allen was able to share his story about joining the Navy.

“It started out being intrigued by the local crop duster that flew near my house,” said Allen. “I saw him flying a lot and thought that it was a pretty interesting job.”

While looking at the various opportunities in the U.S. Navy, Allen said he was intrigued by Naval Aviation and the opportunity to land aboard an aircraft carrier.

“I figured that anyone could land on a 12,000-foot runway, and that landing on a 700-foot, moving runway in the middle of the ocean would be a lot harder, that’s why I decided to pick Navy pilot,” said Allen.      

Not everyone is as fortunate as Allen to have someone in their social circle mention the Navy as a viable option. That is where NAVCO comes in.

NAVCO’s goal is to reach areas without a significant Navy presence and show Americans the talent, skills, and capabilities of their nation’s Navy.

One aspect of Navy skills, used heavily across career fields, is STEM.

“Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math are integral part to Naval Aviation because without it, our aircraft don’t get developed, they don’t get built, they aren’t capable and then we can’t operate them,” said Allen.

Another job in the Navy utilizing STEM to maintain aircraft is an aviation administrationman or AZ.

“An AZ in the Navy keeps track of all the aircraft component times,” said Aviation Administrationman 1st Class Rachel Pierce, who participated in the SHIP2SHORE outreach. “We are the ones that [Sailors] come to when they need help knowing what to change on the aircraft and what inspections need to be done. We also run a real-time information gathering system.”

“AZ’s do math every day,” said Pierce. “Whether it is calculating the pilots’ flight times, calculating the inspections or engine times.”

Pierce added that everything in Naval Aviation has a time associated with it requiring verification, and inspection to ensure the aircraft is flown safely and adheres to overall readiness.  

In Allen’s almost 20 years of service, he has been able to support Operations Iraqi Freedom, New Dawn, and Enduring Freedom; as well as embark on a maiden deployment of an aircraft carrier, and travel around the world with the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN 72) on a record-setting deployment all while doing something he loves.

Both Allen and Pierce gave advice about their job fields.

Pierce said AZ’s have to be ready with a pencil and paper in hand to track maintenance requests and observations, and always be a good listener.

Allen said if someone is interested in pursuing a career as a U.S. Navy pilot, his advice would be to stay motivated.

“Some aspects that make a good pilot are being willing to never quit, continuing to work hard at your job, and studying relentlessly because things are ever-changing and nothing comes easily,” said Allen.

Whether it be flying aircraft or maintaining them, the Navy needs motivated people from all walks of life to continue the mission into the future. The next generation of Naval aviators is out there. While some may be children of current aviators, or live in close proximity to a fleet concentration area, there may be some who come across a NAVCO video and realize what they have always wanted to do.

To hear the entirety of Allen’s and Pierce’s segments where they discuss the importance of the Navy’s mission and STEM, and to hear more Sailors who share their own unique experiences, the public can go to https://www.outreach.navy.mil/Virtual-Outreach/