Kenneth E. Pressley

Ken, the second son of Chief Petty Officer Wallace Pressley, was fortunate to be influenced by his father, who took his three sons to the yearly Blue Angel Airshow. We were also taken to every new aircraft carrier that came into NAS North Island to tour the ship, walk the large flight deck, and get a briefing on how the aircraft were launched and recovered.

These events inflamed Ken's dreams of becoming a naval aviator in 1981. As a child, Ken spent his spare time reading all the history of military aviation that the local library in Chula Vista, CA., had to offer. After college, Ken went to the Aviation Officer Candidate School (AOCS) in Pensacola. Ken was commissioned in 1981 and was sworn in by his father, Wallace Pressley, at NAS Pensacola. Ken's father taught him how to be an officer. He ensured that his son understood what he needed to do as an officer and that the Chief Petty Officers ran the Navy.

Ken went on to choose helicopters on July 5^th, 1982. He received orders to NAS North Island and Helicopter Combat Support Squadron Eleven to fly CH-46Ds. Ken’s next orders were for NAS Corpus Christi as a T-34C flight instructor. From there, Ken received orders to the U.S.S. Tarawa (LHA 1) as an aircraft handler, ensuring all flight operations aboard the ship were completed for the Air Boss. This tour included participation in the Gulf War in 1991. When released from the Gulf after the war, the ship was ordered to participate in Cyclone Relief 91 in Bangladesh. This was a multi-national effort to feed the people devastated by one of the most significant cyclones to make landfall. We had the Marines and their 18 helicopters to transport food to the people affected by the storm.

The following orders were for NAS Pensacola to Helicopter Combat Support Squadron Sixteen as UH-1Ns Fleet NATOPS evaluator, Operation Officer, and Detachment Officer in Charge. This deployment supported the NATO exercise Blue Harrier, which encompassed all NATO countries in the tactical mine countermeasure programs and established the United States as the leader in this essential tactical capability. Det 3 was a critical support part of this exercise.

In 1993, orders were made to NAS Jacksonville, FL, and Helicopter Anti-Submarine Squadron One as an H-3 instructor, operations officer, and executive officer. The last orders were for NAS North Island and Helicopter Combat Support Squadron Eighty-Five as Safety Officers. During his time as Safety Officers, Ken revamped the whole safety program, and the squadron was awarded three consecutive Chief of Naval Operations Safety Awards. Ken retired by order of the Navy in 1997.