Cdr Jon Fay is the Executive Officer (XO) of the U.S. Navy’s Flight Demonstration Squadron, the Blue Angels. In his role as XO, Cdr Fay is charged with supporting the Flight Leader & Commanding Officer with backing up all the policies, programs and plans of the Squadron. The XO position serves as one third of the Command Triad that makes up the leadership of the Blue Angels which in addition to the Commanding Officer also includes the Command Master Chief. With 138 people currently serving on the Team, Cdr Fay cites taking care of people as his primary mission in his role as XO.
Born and raised in Fort Worth, Texas, Cdr Fay was exposed to aviation at a young age through his grandfather, Ben Fay, who was a private pilot and Logistics Manager for General Dynamics, the designer of the YF-16 Fighting Falcon. Fay’s enthusiasm for flight was further inspired by watching B-52s fly out of Carwell Air Force Base, which sat adjacent to C.F. Brewer High School, where he studied and played football before graduating in 1996.
Upon graduation, Fay received several scholarship offers to play NCAA Division 1 college football, however, focused on receiving a strong education, he chose to attend the U.S. Naval Academy, where his brother was also enrolled. While prioritizing academics and being an active member of the Midshipmen’s football team, Fay looked to the next chapter of his young career and was intrigued by the opportunity to be part of something larger than himself.
Graduating from Academy with a Bachelor of Science in economics and receiving his commission in May of 2000, Fay checked into NAS Pensacola, where he was designated a naval flight officer in January of 2002. Reporting to Sea Control Squadron (VS) 41 at Naval Air Station (NAS) North Island, San Diego, he undertook initial training in the Lockheed S-3B Viking, a four-crew, twin-engine turbofan-powered jet.
In the Fall of 2002, Fay deployed aboard aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN-71) where his squadron participated in the initial engagements of Operation Iraqi Freedom and later supported Operation Enduring Freedom. With the S-3B Viking’s pending retirement, Fay transitioned to the P-3C Orion where he served as a Tactical Coordinator until 2015. With the mission of anti-submarine surveillance, Fay harmonized the efforts of between 11 and 21 flight crew, leveraging acoustic pings from sonobuoys to track potential threats.
Fay next served as a Joint Operational Planner at the United States Indo-Pacific Command, the oldest and largest unified combatant command of the United States Armed Forces. His experience would later earn him a position as a Legislative Fellow on Capitol Hill in Washington D.C. before serving in congressional affairs for the Secretary of Defence office.
Fay’s application to join the Blue Angels for the 2022 airshow season was not his first. In fact, It was his initial engagement with the Team at an air show a decade prior in Kaneohe Bay, Hawaii that planted the initial seeds of inspiration, where he met and befriended the Team’s Events Coordinator, LCDR Todd Royals. Inspired by witnessing the Blue Angels in action that weekend, Fay did not realistically consider the Blues as part of his career progression as the XO position had not yet been established. It was during Fay’s next visit with the Blues in 2014 where an Executive Officer was now serving, creating the potential future career opportunity.
With his family’s blessing, including his father-in-law, who served on the Blue Angels as a Crew Chief in the early 1980s, Fay applied for the Team for 2020 season but was not selected in favor of now Cdr Todd Royals. Not to be deterred, Fay maintained a relentless optimism and positive attitude that he attributes to his eventual selection for the 2022 Team.
More than a year into his current role as Executive Officer, Cdr Fay embraces every opportunity that he has to engage with the public and young children in an effort to inspire and share the Blue Angels’ culture of excellence. In particular, he embraces the more emotionally challenging moments of outreach to families dealing with significant adversity to provide hope and encouragement. It is such moments that Fay says are the highest honor of his job and leave just as big of an impact on him as it does the families he meets along the way.
As an ambassador for those forward deployed around the globe, Cdr Fay is humbled by his position on the Blue Angels and simply put “Glad to be here”.
Special thanks to Cdr Fay and the Blue Angels for supporting this effort.
Produced by: Ryan Nothhaft
Visual Resources by:
Cdr Jon Fay
DVIDS
Michael Foran
National Archives
RyNo Media Productions LLC
San Diego Air & SPace Museum
VS-24 End of Cruise Video 2003
Негізгі бет Blue Angels Executive Officer, Cdr Jon Fay | NEW Short Documentary
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