Sailor in the Spotlight

By MCSA Triniti Lersch, NAS Sigonella Public Affairs

Naval Aircrewmen Operator (AWO) 3rd Class Jessy Rosenkranz, a native of Crawfordville, Florida, knew he wanted to serve his country, so he took the oath and joined the Navy in April 2017.

Rosenkranz now serves at his first command, the “The Skinny Dragons” of Patrol Squadron (VP) 4, deployed to Naval Air Station Sigonella.

“AWO3 Rosenkranz is a dedicated, motivated, and humble junior Sailor,” remarked AWO1 Jeremy Schillace, Rosenkranz’s leading petty officer. “In just 10 months after checking into the squadron, AWO3 Rosenkranz became a fully qualified aircrewman and simultaneously earned both his Naval Aircrew Warfare Specialist wings and the Enlisted Aviation Warfare Specialist wings.”

While flying aboard the Navy’s newest maritime patrol aircraft, the P-8A Poseidon, Rosenkranz and the Skinny Dragons utilize the aircraft’s capabilities of anti-submarine and antisurface warfare to scan for threats to the U.S. or NATO assets within the region.

“I really like aviation, it’s just the job and being able to fly,” stated Rosenkranz. “It’s something I’ve always wanted to do.”

Naval Aircrewmen Operators, as a whole, are responsible to detect, analyze, classify, and track surface and subsurface contacts; and operate advanced sonar and radar equipment systems, such as Electronic Support Measure (ESM), Magnetic Anomaly Detector (MAD), Identification Friend or Foe/Selective Identification Feature (IFF/SIF), and Infrared Detector (IR). As if that’s not enough responsibility, they use these tools to produce intelligence products for aircrews to support operations and tactical mission’s worldwide.

“We utilize all the systems to build an accurate picture of what’s out there while we fly,” explained Rosenkranz. “That better helps us to maintain situational awareness when doing antisubmarine warfare or other missions.”

As a qualified electronic warfare operator, Rosenkranz current tasks while assigned to the squadron consists of assisting in the mission of anti-submarine warfare while flying, and training his fellow shipmates on personnel qualification standards (PQS) related to their various job responsibilities.

“Rosenkranz can always be found studying for upcoming events or sharing his knowledge with his peers in the shop,” added Schillace. “His positive attitude and relentless drive have led to his selection as one of the squadron’s next instructors.”

Work in the squadron is by no means a 9 to 5 job as Rosenkranz typically works 12 hours on and 15 hours off duty. While his demanding schedule hasn’t provided him with the opportunity to explore Sicily yet, it has afforded Rosenkranz his own unique opportunities.

“You get to fly to a lot of cool places, see a lot of cool things, and meet new people,” said Rosenkranz. “I enjoy that.”