Smithfield native serves at Whidbey Island

Submitted by NAVY OFFICE OF COMMUNITY OUTREACH

OAK HARBOR, Wash. — Smithfield native Airman Tavis Wymer is serving with the U.S. Navy’s cuttingedge maritime patrol and reconnaissance aircraft squadron in Oak Harbor, Washington.

Wymer joined the Navy one year ago. Today, Wymer serves as an aviation electrician’s mate.

“I met a lot of people who inspired me to join the Navy,” Wymer said. “A lot of my senior mentors were prior Navy. I met a retired senior chief when I was in high school who helped to inspire me to stay in school, pursue my dreams and stay out of trouble.”

Wymer serves with Maritime Patrol Squadron One, a high-tech maritime patrol and reconnaissance squadron tasked with monitoring the world’s oceans in the state-of-the-art P-8A Poseidon. He attended Smithfield-Selma High School and graduated in 2017. Today, Wymer uses skills and values similar to those found in Smithfield.

“I learned to always be humble and don’t be greedy,” Wymer said.

These lessons have helped Wymer while serving in the Navy supporting the P-8 Poseidon mission. The P-8 Poseidon mission is to conduct maritime patrol and reconnaissance as well as long-range anti-submarine warfare, anti-surface warfare and intelligence gathering missions. They deploy around the globe to monitor the world’s oceans wherever they are needed.

The Poseidon, the Navy’s newest maritime, patrol and reconnaissance aircraft, is a replacement aircraft for the legacy P-3C Orion. According to Navy officials, leveraging the experience and technology of the successful Orion with the needs of the fleet, the Poseidon is designed to be combatcapable, and to improve an operator’s ability to efficiently conduct anti-submarine warfare; anti-surface warfare; and intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance missions.

“The Navy is sea, land and air,” Wymer said. “We can protect what’s outside of our coast and we can deploy to other coasts.”

With more than 90% of all trade traveling by sea, and 95% 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 a strong and ready Navy.

Wymer and other sailors have many opportunities to achieve accomplishments during their military service. “I’m most proud of obtaining my plane captain qualification,” Wymer said. “I’m incurring training to become a plane captain and I’m just about to test out. It’s a very prestigious qualification. I work directly under the commanding officer as an aircraft director. A plane captain is responsible for recovering and launching an aircraft; servicing and performing inspections; as well as reporting discrepancies with the aircraft.”

As Wymer and other sailors continue to train and perform the missions to support national defense, they take pride in serving their country in the United States Navy. “Serving in the Navy means honoring both my family and country,” Wymer concluded.