Dayton High grad serves on ‘airport at sea’

BREMERTON, Wash. – A Dayton native and 2012 Dayton High School graduate is serving aboard the aircraft carrier USS John C. Stennis, a floating airport at sea.

Petty Officer 1st Class Joshua Boga is a legalman serving aboard the carrier.

A Navy legalman is responsible for assisting the attorneys on board with legal and disciplinary issues for sailors.

“The job experience I have in this field is something I can use outside the Navy, which is a great boost to my career,” said Boga.

Approximately 3,200 men and women make up the crew of John C. Stennis, with an additional 2,000 sailors assigned to the ship’s embarked air wing, Carrier Air Wing 9.

Named in honor of former U.S. Sen. John C. Stennis from Mississippi, the carrier is longer than three football fields, measuring nearly 1,100 feet. The ship, a true floating city, weighs more than 100,000 tons and has a flight deck that is 252 feet wide.

When the air wing is embarked, the ship carries more than 70 attack jets, helicopters and other aircraft, all of which take off from and land aboard the carrier at sea.

Powerful catapults slingshot the aircraft off the bow of the ship. The planes land aboard the carrier by snagging a steel cable with an arresting hook that protrudes from the rear of the aircraft.

Boga combines the lessons learned from the Navy and Dayton to take personal responsibility in performing assigned tasks and leading others.

“I learned the value of a good work ethic growing up, and it’s really helped me in the Navy,” said Boga.

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

“Serving in the Navy has meant a lot of different things to me over the years,” said Boga. “Originally, I wanted to leave home and see the world, but now I pride myself in being able to keep my home safe.”