THE WIND BENEATH THE BLUE ANGELS’ WINGS By Al Parker Crowds gather along Grand Traverse Bay to gaze into the sky for the biggest beach bash of the year. A voice shouts, “There they are!” Cameras rise in unison, and the thundering roar of the F-18 Super Hornets announce the bold arrival of the U.S. Navy Blue Angels. While Blue Angels pilots get most of the public’s attention during the Cherry Festival Air Show, there’s a behind-the scenes team of dedicated personnel that keep those high-tech aircraft flying high, and Michigan native U.S. Navy Senior Chief Amber Gibson is one of them. Going Blue “I enlisted in the Navy right after high school in 2006,” says the Muskegon Oakridge graduate in a phone interview from Naval Air Station Pensacola, Florida, home of the Blue Angels Squadron. “I really didn’t know what I wanted to do, but I knew I didn’t want to waste time and money on college. A recruiter came to our class, and I made up my mind to enlist.” Gibson joined the Blue Angels team in 2019 and underwent a long process to get selected. “I was in Bahrain and saw online that they had openings, so I applied,” she recalls. Applicants go through extensive screening that saw Gibson travel from Bahrain to Pensacola for a week-long interview process. Once selected, she spent about 90 days of
14 • june 27, 2022 • Northern Express Weekly
