City planners learn about station's role in community

After receiving a station brief by NAS Jacksonville Commanding Officer Capt. Jack Scorby Jr., the group boarded a bus for a base tour that included a maritime patrol and reconnaissance brief by the VP-5 "Mad Foxes" at Hangar 511.

"We value our long-standing relationship with Northeast Florida and the City of Jacksonville," said Scorby. "As our mission evolves, it's important to keep community leaders informed as to how the Navy affects economic growth and quality of life issues."

October 9, 2009- Members of the COJ Planning Board listen to sailors assigned to the Mad Foxes of Patrol Squadron Five (VP-5) as they tour a P3-C Orion aircraft in hangar 511 onboard naval Air Station Jacksonville. US Navy photo by IS2 (AW) Kurt Henrickson

"This tour gave our visitors an up-close look at some of the commands that operate at NAS Jacksonville," said Matt Shellhorn, community planning and liaison officer for the station. "They took a serious interest in what they saw and asked good questions. Our goal is for Navy and community planners to work in partnership to assure air installation compatibility use zones."

Shellhorn added that a highlight of the tour took place during lunch at the Flightline Café. "NAS Jax Executive Officer Capt. Jeffrey Maclay arranged for some Individual Augmentees who recently returned from overseas deployments to share their experiences with our guests."

Lt. Joshua Lowery of VP-5 explains the operations of the tactical officer station on a P3-C Orion aircraft to Andy Hatzel, a City of Jacksonville planning commission staff member. Photo by IS2 (AW) Kurt Henrickson

City of Jacksonville Planning Board hosted by NAS Jacksoville Planning Dept. Oct. 9. (Front row, from left) Amy Holliman, John Crofts, Meredith Hines, Wendy Kahn, (Row 2) Bruce Lewis, Pablo Ferrari, Dow Peters, (Row 3) Paul Davis, Brian Small, Jim Register, Shakeeb Shariff, (Back row) NAS Jax Executive Officer Jeffry Maclay, Aaron Glick, Sean Kelly, Andy Hetzel, ___, and NAS Jax Commanding Officer Capt. Jack Scorby Jr. Photo by Clark Pierce