EAST NICOLAUS HIGH SCHOOL ALUMNA HELPS TRAIN NAVY PILOTS

VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. – A 2012 East Nicholas High School graduate and Plumas Lake native is currently serving with a U.S. Navy strike fighter squadron which flies one of the world’s most advanced warplanes.

Petty Officer 3rd Class Amanda Okray is an aviation structural mechanic with the Gladiators of VFA106, which operates out of Naval Air Station Oceana. A Navy aviation structural mechanic maintains all aircraft main and auxiliary hydraulic power systems, actuating subsystems and landing gear.

“My hometown taught me that if you feel something is worth doing, do it right the first time,” Okray said.

Members of VFA-106 train pilots to fly the F/A 18 Super Hornet, one of the most advanced aircraft in the world. The Super Hornet takes off from and lands on Navy aircraft carriers at sea and is capable of conducting air-to-air combat as well as striking targets on land. It is approximately 61 feet long, has a loaded weight of 51,000 lbs., and a max speed of 1,190 miles per hour.

Operating from sea aboard aircraft carriers, the Super Hornet gives the Navy the power to protect America’s interests anywhere, at any time. The versatile jet has the ability to destroy targets located hundreds of miles inland, without the need to get another country’s permission to operate within its borders. Okray has military ties with family members who have previously served, and is honored to carry on the family tradition.

“My little sister is also in the Navy,” said Okray. “Serving in the Navy is teaching me patience. Being hot-headed and impatient gets you nowhere fast.”

As a member of one of the U.S. Navy’s most relied-upon assets, Okray and other sailors know they are part of a legacy that will last beyond their lifetimes providing the Navy the nation needs.

“The diversity of people in the Navy is great,” Okray said. “You can learn a lot and it’s nice to see so many different people all accomplishing a common mission.”