Meet the New Leaders: Ens. Christafer Sobbing, Air Operations Officer

Ens. Christafer Sobbing, a native of Red Oak, Iowa, enlisted in the Navy as an Aviation Electronics Technician and was assigned to Tinker Air Force Base, Okla., where he served for 12 years. In 2020, he commissioned as an officer and said he has completed 54 days in Restriction of Movement status while traveling between schools and duty stations. He earned a Bachelor’s degree in Theatre Arts from the University of Iowa in 2006. As the air operations officer, Sobbing said his role is to make sure the department has everything they need to bring aircraft in and out and prepare for larger movements. "I take care of the Navy-assist side of it," said Sobbing. "Making sure we have the personnel in the places to be able to help have all that stuff happen. And I stay in the know of everything that they’re doing so that I can make sure that we have support for everything."

Why did you decide to join the Navy?

When I initially joined I was working at a professional theater. The reason I joined up is because I wanted to see the world. They were not doing touring shows there and I was like, “Okay, what do you do to see the world?” Well, you join the Navy — you end up on an aircraft carrier and see the world. So I joined the Navy, got stationed at Oklahoma City at Tinker Air Force Base, the TACAMO (Take Charge and Move Out) community, and served there for the next 12 years. It’s one of those places where once you get there they don’t let you leave, really. So, the only way to leave was to get commissioned as an officer. So I made it to chief there and then put in my (Limited Duty Officer) package, picked up LDO, waited the year and a half, and went through all the schools.

What experience in your career best prepared you for your role here?

I think just being in aviation and having worked the maintenance control desk. Maintenance control is where we make sure the jets are up and all maintenance is done on it. I had the responsibility of releasing the jets as ‘safe for flight.’ So, it’s basically just knowing what I need to do to get an aircraft up and out is what has helped me more than anything.

What are you looking forward to most about your time in Greece?

I’m a big history buff. One thing I love is just classical history and obviously there is a huge amount of history here. So being able to get out and do some of the hikes around all the different areas. Because I mean Crete by itself has history going back 10,000 years with some of the archeology digs … you have so much history from ancient Greece, to the Minoans over in Knossos, to things that are within a 100 years of WWII, so it’s just amazing.

What do you like to do in your free time?

I like to exercise. I like to run — I haven’t got to run as much as I like to. I like hiking. Getting into those hills is just great. I keep seeing the mountain over there and I keep waiting for the country to open up all together so I can go climb that thing. (I’m a) big history buff. Love to read. I’m a book maniac to some extent. So I’m looking to get into the book stores here, too. I play guitar poorly — it’s mostly for myself and it’s one of those things where you play guitar and nobody needs to hear it so you do it quietly in a room. I like watching basketball, so (I'm a) big NBA fan.

What do you want Team Souda to know about you?

My first name is spelled strange. C-h-r-i-s-t-a-f-e-r. My parents thought they were spelling the German spelling; it happens they weren’t. They were just creating something completely new that has affected most of my life. I have to explain to people – everyone tries to correct my name and assume I spelled it wrong and tried to fix it for me, but no, no that’s how it’s spelled.