JAX AIR NEWS, NAS JACKSONVILLE, Thursday, July 16, 2009 13


Leckelt piped ashore at VP-30, celebrating 24-year career


From VP-30 Public Affairs


Senior Chief Aviation
 Electrician's Mate (AW/
 NAAC) D. Kent Leckelt cel-
ebrated the end of his 24-year
Navy career in a June 19 cer-
emony at the VP-30 auditorium.
VP-30 Training Officer Lt. Cmdr.
Mark Bunn presided over the
ceremony. Guest speaker was Lt.
Rodney Erler, an instructor pilot
and weapons tactics instructor at
VP-30.
 After completing boot camp in
1985 at Naval Recruit Training
Center Orlando, Leckelt gradu-
ated from Aviation Electrician's
Mate "A" School in Millington,
Tenn.
 Leckelt was assigned to VA-37
at NAS Cecil Field, Fla. where he
worked on the A-7E Corsair II.
During this tour, he completed
deployments to the Mediterranean
Sea and Indian Ocean onboard
USS Forestall (CV-59).
 In 1989, he completed Naval
Aircrewman Candidate School
at NAS Pensacola and reported
to VP-30 for P-3 Flight Engineer


 Photos courtesy of VP 30
(From right) AECS(AW/NAAC) Leckelt receives his retirement certificate
from VP-30 Training Officer Lt. Cmdr. Mark Bunn.


School. Upon graduation, he
reported to VP-10 in Brunswick,
Maine, where he was assigned to
the quality assurance division,
qualified as a squadron instruc-
tor flight engineer and complet-
ed deployments to Rota, Spain,
Lazes, Azores and Sigonnella,
Sicily during the ending phase of


the Cold War.
 In 1993, he reported to Force
Aircraft Test Squadron in
Patuxent River, Md. and was
advanced to First Class Petty
Officer. He flew on flights that
performed testing on future P-3
weapons systems, served as the
vp maintenance division supervi-


sor and was the command's pri-
mary flight engineer NATOPS
instructor.
 Leckelt reported to VP-1 at NAS
Whidbey Island, Wash. in 1996.
He served as the training division
leading petty officer, deployed to
Japan, Diego Garcia and detached
to Oman and Bahrain. He was
also selected to train pilots and
flight engineers from the South
Korean Navy on P-3 fuel planning
and flight safety procedures.
 He attended the Navy
Instructor School and reported to
VP-30 in 1999. He also became
a fleet instructor for other P-3
commands, earning his Master
Training Specialist designation.
He also qualified to release air-
craft 'Safe for Flight,' served as a
Fleet NATOPS evaluator and was
selected as the 2002 Instructor of
the Year.
 In 2003, he returned to
Whidbey Island with VP-40 and
was soon promoted to Chief Petty
Officer. Leckelt deployed with the
Fighting Marlins to the Middle
East and Japan while serving
as line division chief, AE shop


branch chief and the NATOPS
department chief petty officer.
 In 2006, he again reported to
the Pro's Nest of VP-30 as the
Staff Instructor Under Training
Leading Chief. In May, he
advanced to Senior Chief Petty
Officer. During this tour, he
completed his Bachelor's degree
from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical
University and earned his
Airframe and Powerplant
Certificate. He reached the pin-
nacle of his career when he
was chosen as VP-30 Training
Department Flight Engineer
Leading Chief Petty Officer.
 At the retirement ceremony, Lt.
Erler said, "Senior Chief Leckelt
has made a career of teaching,
mentoring and instructing. In
every squadron he served, senior
has provided that intangible glue
that makes a difference in peo-
ple's lives. He will be mii--.. I
 Leckelt was piped ashore with
his wife, Kelly, and son, Caden.
 His awards include two Navy
Commendation Medals, three Navy
Achievement Medals and various
unit and campaign ribbons.


VP-30 earns prestigious award


By Lt. j.g. Glenn Greenleaf
VP-30 PAO___
T he VP-30 "Pro's Nest" was
 awarded the Association
 of Naval Aviation's cov-
eted Cmdr. Theodore G. Ellyson
Aviator Production Excellence
Award for fiscal year 2007 on
July 10.
 According to the citation, "The
Pro's Nest was chosen due to
their ability to demonstrate the
greatest production efficiency in
training the fleet requirement
for pilots, naval flight officers
(NFO) and aircrewmen within the
Chief of Naval Operations' (CNO)
approved syllabus time."
 The award is named in honor
of Ellyson, who was the first
naval officer to undergo aviation
training and who was designated
naval aviator No. 1 in January


1914. Throughout his career,
Ellyson was instrumental in the
development of all facets of naval
aviation including the establish-
ment of the first flight training
sites, which were termed Naval
Aviation Camps, at Annapolis,
Md. and San Diego. The spon-
sor of this award is the Thomas
Group based in Irving, Texas. A
CNO-appointed awards com-
mittee selects five squadrons
which demonstrate the greatest
efficiency in meeting the fleet
requirement for pilots and naval
flight officers within the CNO-
approved syllabus time to receive
the award. One fleet replace-
ment squadron from Commander,
Naval Air Forces Atlantic, one
from Commander Naval Air
Force, US Pacific Fleet, one
Marine, and two training squad-
rons (one primary, one advanced)


from Chief of Naval Air Training
are selected annually.
 The Pro's Nest executed 6,764
flight hours and 19,251 land-
ings in support of 1,919 sorties,
was awarded the AVCM Donald
M. Neal Aircraft Maintenance
Award, also known as the Golden
Wrench Award, and the CNO
Aviation Safety Award for 2008.
VP-30 continues their outstand-
ing record of 45 years and 433,000
mishap-free flight hours.
 VP-30's forward-looking atti-
tude is a direct reflection of the
squadron's focal point -- train-
ing the next generation of mari-
time patrol and reconnaissance
aviators in multi-mission mari-
time aircraft. VP-30 consistently
strives to improve the training of
pilots, NFOs and aircrewmen in
order to support and defend our
country.


 Photo courtesy of VP 30
From left, VP-30 Executive Officer Cmdr. Matthew Ahern, Training
Officer Lt. Cmdr. Mark Bunn, Commanding Officer Capt. Richard Fite,
Training Director Lt. Cmdr. Aaron Shoemaker, CMDCM(AW/NAC) Charles
Blackston and Assistant Training Leading Chief Petty Officer AWOCS(AW/
NAC) Joel Broadbent gather after receiving the Cmdr. Theodore G. Ellyson
Aviaton Production Excellence Award.


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