Partly Cloudy, 77°
Weather sponsored by:

VP-26 returns from first P-8 deployment

Kile Brewer
Posted 10/18/17

JACKSONVILLE – Hundreds gathered Thursday at a 1940s-era hangar on the Naval Air Station Jacksonville runway to welcome home about 200 members of the VP-26 Tridents from a six-month deployment to …

This item is available in full to subscribers.

Please log in to continue

Log in

Don't have an ID?


Print subscribers

If you're a print subscriber, but do not yet have an online account, click here to create one.

Non-subscribers

Click here to see your options for subscribing.

Single day pass

You also have the option of purchasing 24 hours of access, for $1.00. Click here to purchase a single day pass.

VP-26 returns from first P-8 deployment


Posted

JACKSONVILLE – Hundreds gathered Thursday at a 1940s-era hangar on the Naval Air Station Jacksonville runway to welcome home about 200 members of the VP-26 Tridents from a six-month deployment to the Western Pacific.

During the trip, the men spent time in Japan, and met members of foreign navies from Australia, Japan, South Korea and a variety of southeast Asian countries. They showed off their skills to foreign audiences during air shows and other events, but spent the majority of their time perfecting their skills on the P-8A Poseidon aircraft.

Though other commands at NAS Jax have already made the switch to the P-8, this deployment was the first for the Tridents on the updated version of the tried-and-true P-3C Orion aircraft.

The group spent about a year training on the new plane before being deployed, something Commanding Officer Cmdr. Andrew Klosterman said was key to their success on this particular deployment.

“The first [deployment] is always more challenging,” Klosterman said. “I could not have asked for our crew to perform any better than they did.”

According to Klosterman, the P-8 comes with a steep learning curve. The plane features a lot of new technology which he described as being much more advanced than what they are used to. With the aircrew operating as a team to complete missions, everyone has to remain constantly aware and know all of the minute details of their job to ensure things run smoothly without error. Klosterman said his men and women didn’t bat an eye during their trip.

“Overall how we operate as a crew doesn’t change a lot [on the new aircraft],” Klosterman said. “The P-8 requires a crew of nine instead of 11, but every person has a job and the jobs don’t change much.”

The crews tallied about 4,000 total flight hours during the deployment, with about 11,000 hours of maintenance being completed to keep the planes in top form between outings. This trip was a welcomed success for all members of VP-26 as they are now fully transitioned away from the P-3.

The men returned in three separate planes. First came two P-8s, each holding the air crew, pilots and officers. The last plane looked more like a jumbo jet used for trans-Pacific passenger flights, which carried more than 100 members of the maintenance crew.

The first P-8 to arrive held Oakleaf resident Jeremy Weldon.

“I usually get pretty emotional,” said Weldon’s wife Jennifer as she stood with her children just before the first two planes arrived. “When he’s gone, I get to play the role of both parents. I get to juggle all the carpooling and sporting events.”

At the front of the group was Weldon’s son Joshua. As officials got word from the approaching planes and announced the arrival estimate: “Two minutes!” Joshua began to hop around, getting ready to hug his dad for the first time in a half a year. The family readied themselves to run out to meet Jeremy.

“[Joshua] usually beats me to him,” Jennifer said. “He’s quicker than I am in my heels.”

As Jeremy made his way down the stairs and toward his family, Joshua broke free and sprinted to his dad, flying into the sailor’s arms. The two stood there hugging as the rest of the family joined.

This was Jeremy’s fourth deployment since being stationed at NAS Jax about five years ago. His kids are older than they were when Jeremy had to leave them for the first time, but things haven’t changed much in his head.

“You get used to it a little bit, but every time it’s the same emotions,” he said. “You still have to leave your family.”