I provide this expanded information for the agent/editor to evaluate my qualifications to write in the Action/Adventure genre.
I am Commander Gary Penton, US Navy retired. I live in San Antonio, Texas with my wife of 25-years. She is a registered ICU nurse and I am dedicated to writing, full-time.
I was born at the Portsmouth Naval Hospital. My father, a petty officer second class boiler technician, left the service a year later. I left our home in Broaddus, TX, about ten minutes after graduation. There were only 27 students in my graduating class (K-12 was in one building). I attended The Ocean Corporation; a Houston, Texas-based commercial diving training facility, and graduated with mixed-gas commercial diver, underwater welder, and non-destructive inspection certificates and worked freelance for three diving companies in Southern Louisiana - Oceaneering International, S&H Diving, LLC ("Stolt"), and Continental Diving Co.
I joined the Navy with the intention of joining the Navy's diving program. My recruiter promised that my commercial diving experience would ensure me a Navy Diver billet. Like any good recuiter, he lied. I would have to serve onboard ship for three years before I could even apply to the Diver program. I was fortunate that I enjoyed my tour on the aircraft carrier, USS MIDWAY homeported in Yokosuka, Japan.
Click here to visit The Ocean Corporation
ABOARD USS MIDWAY (decommisioned 1988) I was assigned as a Fighter Squadron 151 "Vigilante" plane captain.
Navy Plane Captains - From About.com. "According to the Naval Safety Center, modern naval aircraft are inherently complex, and plane captains often represent the sole source of expertise on daily and turnaround inspections. Plane captains spend 12 to 15 hours per day with their assigned aircraft. In addition to the constant inspections, brown shirts check fluid levels, prepare the cockpit for flight and ensure there is no foreign object debris that could damage the "bird." Prior to handing the aircraft over to the pilot, the plane captains act as the final set of eyes. “They prep the jets and get us ready to go, said Lt. Eric Taylor, one of Fighter/Attack Squadron (VFA) 147’s F/A-18 Hornet pilots. “Without them, we couldn’t do our jobs. We couldn’t go flying.”
Although Navy plane captains tend to be some of the most junior personnel in the squadrons, the responsibility can be enormous. The plane, pilot and mission can rest squarely on their shoulders. Sailors spend a minimum of 90 days learning the ins-and-outs before they can receive the prestigious title of plane captain, and have their names and hometowns stenciled on the belly of an aircraft. I was a plane captain for almost nine months and then moved on to his job as an Aircraft Structural Mechanic."
I spent nine months on the flight deck before moving to a more permanent job as an F-4 Phantom II fighter/interceptor mechanic.
"General Info: The Aviation Structural Mechanic - Structures (AMS), is responsible for maintenance on the aircraft fuselage(mainframe), wings, airfoils, and associated fixed and moveable surfaces and flight controls. Aircrew volunteers from this rating perform inflight duties in various types of aircraft. Aircrew volunteers should volunteer under the Aircrew Recruiting Program.
What They Do: The duties performed by AMSs include: removing, repairing and replacing aircraft fuselage, wings, fixed and movable surfaces, airfoils, regular seats, wheels and tires, controls and mechanisms; removing, installing and rigging aircraft flight control surfaces; fabricating and assembling metal components and making minor repairs to aircraft skin; installing rivets and metal fasteners; painting aircraft; fabricating repairs for composite components; performing non-destructive dye penetrant inspections (NDI); performing daily, preflight, postflight and other periodic aircraft inspections."
Click for more info about the F-4 Phantom II, second most produced military aircraft in US history).
Click here to read more about the USS MIDWAY
Just as the The F-4S Phantom II was phased out for the F/A-18 Hornet Fighter, I was finishing my three and a half years on the carrier and was subsequently assigned to the Aircraft Intermediate Maintenance Detachment, in Atsugi, Japan, providing support and repair for the F-4S Phantom, F/A-18 Hornet, A-3 Skywarrior, A-6 Intruder, A-7 Corsair, EA-6B Prowler, E-2C Hawkeye, C-2 Greyhound, C-130 Hercules, C-2 Tracer, SH-3 Sea King, CH-46A/UH-46A Sea Knight, H-56 Super Stallion, S-3 Viking, CH-53E Sea Knight and the SH-60 Seahawk. Click the aircraft name to see the missions of each.
After three years at AIMD Atsugi, I was selected for flight training at Aviation Officer Candidate School, Pensacola, FL.
Article written by MELISSA NELSON - Associated Press Writer
PENSACOLA NAVAL AIR STATION, Fla. (AP)
Aviation Officer Candidate School closes and consolitates training with Surface Warfare Officers in Rhode Island.
Richard Gere portrayed an officer candidate in the 1982 mega-hit "An Officer and A Gentleman." The movie was based on the Pensacola Aviation Officer Candidate School, although it was set at a fictional naval air station and filmed elsewhere. The short-lived television show "Pensacola" was also a tribute to Naval Flight Training and many episodes of "JAG" were filmed at the Naval Air Station.
Just minutes after reporting for duty last July, a few of the candidates lost their composure, their voices cracking as instructors barked commands over the ocean breeze. It was a first taste of military discipline for some. When one candidate was slow answering a question, an instructor scrawled "Goldfish" on masking tape and stuck it on his back. "Goldfish die after a week, you know that? We might have to change your name to 'Gnat,' though, because gnats only live for day," he said. A fraction of those that show up that first day actually graduate and continue with a challenging and rewarding career in Navy Aviation.
For Pensacola residents accustomed to seeing officer candidates out on the town in their dress white uniforms, an era is ending. "It is one of those things you don't appreciate until they tell you it's going," said Jack Williams, whose family owns Seville Quarter, a popular block of clubs and restaurants frequented by officer candidates. "We will miss seeing them walking around downtown and coming in here and checking their hats in our gift shop," he said.
Over the years, he's taken some early morning calls from candidates who forgot to retrieve their hats before leaving his bar. And he's headed off a few fights. "It's rare that you have to make a call out to the school, but it does happen. They train them to be confident and that comes out some times. Usually it's about a girl or someone looking at a girl," he said.
The closing after about 70 years is also the end of an era at the base, where officer candidates run along the streets in their navy blue shorts and white T-shirts, and the sound of drill instructors often drifts into offices - and Marine drill instructors have always overseen the training. These drill instructors are hand-picked from the cream of the crop that have proven themselves as the best of the drill instructors at the Marine Corps 'bootcamp' and SEAL programs.
"Every candidate I've ever talked to always remembers their drill instructor because they are such a dominating presence, a larger-than-life presence," Goodspeed said. The drill instructor for the school's final class is Gunnery Sgt. Jason Jones, a veteran of two combat tours in Iraq. His gravely voice comes from years of yelling commands. "You'd be surprised how many people say I have a problem with my voice or something is wrong with the way I speak, but the candidates learn real quick to understand what I'm talking about," said Jones, who stands with perfect posture and gazes with a classic Marine thousand-yard stare.
He was quick to remind students of their place in history as the last of thousands of classes to march on the parade field of Pensacola Naval Air Station. "Go out with a bang," he told candidates.
William Gum, 25, was teaching high school math and science when he enlisted to become a Navy pilot. He asked to attend officer training in Pensacola before the school closed. "Pensacola is the place to go if you are a Naval aviator. When I am out there doing drills and the Blue Angels are flying around ... It sounds cheesy, but it makes the hairs on your arms stick up," he said. He will attend flight school in Pensacola after completing officer training.
Of this final 3 1/2 month class, twenty five of its original 56 candidates dropped out, including the one labeled Goldfish. That number is actually less than the historical average.
As graduation approached, students became more confident in their futures as Navy officers. "The entire experience is worth too much to give up. We are starting to come together as a class, and it is starting to be fun," said candidate Julie Wonder, 22, a University of Oregon architecture graduate.
Lt. Scott Kykendall, an instructor and Naval aviator, will return to Iraq instead of moving to Rhode Island. He said Pensacola will always be a unique place, especially for aviators starting their Navy careers.
After AOCS and another 18 months of flight training, I was assigned to Training Squadron Ten (VT-10) in Pensacola, FL for basic NFO training, then to the Air Force 526th Flying Training Squadron in Sacramento, CA. then to Patrol Squadron thirty (VP-30) in Jacksonville, FL for specific platform training before final operational assignment to Patrol Squadron FIVE at NAS Jacksonville, FL., a squadron flying the patrol torpedo bomber "P-3C Orion" deployed along the coasts of the United States and all over the world to search for and maintain locating data (and destroy if necessary) submarines, conduct shipping interdiction, and engage in an electronic intelligence (ELINT) role. The aircraft carries over 20,000 pounds (9 metric tons) of ordnance including: the Harpoon (AGM-84D) cruise missle, the SLAM (AGM-84E) missiles, Maverick (AGM 65) air-to-ground missiles, MK-46 torpedoes, MK-50 torpedoes, MU90 IMPACT, rockets, mines, cluster bombs, depth bombs, and the B57 nuclear depth bomb. In addition to flying duties was (not concurrently): Nuclear Weapons Training Officer, Nuclear Weapons Safety Officer, and squadron Tactics Officer.
After my first flying tour in Jacksonville, FL, I was assigned to my first staff position as Aide-de-camp to the Commander, U.S. Naval Forces, Japan (CNFJ), a diplomatic and operational command in Yokosuka (35 miles south of Tokyo). The area of responsibility extends from the southern tip of the Kamchatka peninsula to the northern tip of Taiwan. It includes the Sea of Japan, a portion of the Philippine Sea, part of the northern Pacific, and the British Territory of Diego Garcia but not the Korean Peninsula. Acts as Navy representative and coordinator in our area of responsibility, executes shore installation management, and promotes operability and conducts liaison with the Japan Maritime Self Defense Force (JMSDF) and the U.S. Ambassador to Japan.
Of particular interest for this novel, I drove an aircraft carrier through the narrow Malacca Strait four times. After intensive ship-handling training in San Diego, I was assigned for two years as the navigation division officer for the forward-deployed aircraft carrier, USS INDEPENDENCE. I had responsibility for the safe maneuvering of the 81,000 ton ship during precise navigation through tight shipping channels and during daily flight operations. I was also the ship's navigation and ship-handling training officer for all ship and Carrier Air Wing 5 officers. The ship is longer than 3 ˝ football fields and was populated with 4,500 people and over 90 aircraft. I was also the ship's navigation and ship handling training Officer for all ship’s officers and airwing officers. By the end of my assignment, I became the Command Duty Officer, responsible for the daily administration and operations of the entire ship in the absence of the Captain.
I then returned to aviation duties as a P-3C Orion Flight Instructor at Patrol Squadron Thirty (VP-30) in Jacksonville, Florida. VP-30 is the U.S. Navy's maritime patrol fleet training squadron tasked with aircraft-specific training for pilots, naval flight officers, and enlisted aircrew. We also provide the same training for foreign military pilots and aircrew from Germany, Korea, Netherlands, Norway, Spain, and Thailand. In addition to my duties as a flight instructor, I was also the Administration Officer for approximately 700 officer and enlisted personnel.
I spent my final months on the staff of Naval Medical Center, San Diego and the Navy Hospital Ship, USNS Mercy (TA-19) Click the photo to the right to learn about one of the two hospital ships (USNS Mercy in San Diego, CA and USNS Comfort in Norfolk, VA).
USNS Mercy and USS George Washington
Education, Experiences and other Interests.
Bachelor of Science (business administration) from the University of Maryland. Master of Arts (national security and strategic studies) from the Naval War College. Writing experience: I've written several papers on military tactics and while on deployments I wrote articles describing events and life at our different deployment sites for base newspapers back home. I was a staff writer for Jax Air News; the official Naval Air Station Jacksonville newspaper. During my final assignment to the Naval Medical Center, San Diego, California, I was a writer and editor for Public Affairs Center, San Diego and then a writer and editor for the "TRICARE" military healthcare system. I also created a website and started a monthly newsletter for the Navy Hospital Ship, USNS MERCY. I was reporter, editor, copy editor, publisher and distributor - everything except the actual printing of 3,000 copies for the shipboard personnel and Naval Medical Center, San Diego. Overseas assignments: Japan for 12 years, Sicily for one year, Iceland for one year, and Spain for six months. Extended battle deployments to Saudi Arabia, the Persian Gulf, Adriatic Sea, and Red Sea.
I've spent significant time in Singapore and Hong Kong (settings in 'The Malacca Exile') during many visits. The Cmdr. of Logistics, Western Pacific offices are in Singapore. MIDDLE EAST: Saudi Arabia, Duhbai, Bahrain, Kenya, Egypt, and the United Arab Emirates. FAR EAST and ASIA MINOR: South Korea, Kuala Lumpur, Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, and Guam. EUROPE: Greece, Italy, France, Germany, Netherlands, Denmark, Norway, England, Scotland, Portugal. DOWN UNDER: I've been to Sydney and Perth Australia on four separate occasions for two weeks each time. STATESIDE ASSIGNMENTS: Maine, Jacksonville, Florida, Washington State, Washington D.C., and San Diego.
I am a mediocre jazz guitarist and I also build custom guitars and pickups. I studied Spanish guitar making with Charles Fox at the American School of Lutherie in Healdsburg, CA. Classical guitar making with Kenny Hill at the Hill Guitar Company in Santa Cruz, CA. Electric guitar and bass making with John Marshall at Luthiers International in Atlanta, GA.
