Posted on Mar 29, 2021
Memphis Native, Navy Chief Reflects on Two Decades of Service
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The average time an employee spends at the same job is a little over four years, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. For military service members, it is between seven and eight years. Only one in five active duty service members make it to full retirement of 20 years or more. Statistically, one or two contracts leads to an honorable discharge and other civilian life callings.
Chief Aviation Ordnanceman John Baxter had no way of knowing when he joined the U.S. Navy as a 17-year-old high school senior in 2002 that he would defy statistics and accomplish so much in his career before the age of 40. He could not have fathomed setting up pyrotechnics for Blue Angels Flight Demonstrations, dining with former presidents or becoming a decorated Iraq Veteran.
He did all of this and more with retirement now on the horizon, a lifetime of stories, and a career to be proud of.
Baxter enlisted through the delayed entry program and graduated from Kirby High School in Memphis, Tennessee in 2002. He admits that his path to the Navy formed less from choice than pure happenstance.
“I did not really know what I wanted to do after high school, but I knew that I did not want to go to school anymore,” he said. “I had always thought that joining the military would be something I would like, so I figured ‘why not?’. I joined the Navy because my recruiter at the time, Aviation Structural Mechanic 2nd Class Sam Neil, was the first recruiter to talk to me. I was not exactly a hard sell.”
When it came time to choose a rating, Baxter was nudged toward the aviation community by Neil due to his own familiarity, but he was immediately disqualified from one option. Standing tall at 6 feet 9 inches, he knew becoming a pilot was not in the cards and landed on Aviation Ordnance (AO).
“My recruiter pushed that side of the fleet, and when they got to AO they mentioned explosives and bombs. That sounded pretty cool to a 17-year-old, so I said, ‘Done; sign me up.’,” Baxter explained.
Chief Aviation Ordnanceman John Baxter had no way of knowing when he joined the U.S. Navy as a 17-year-old high school senior in 2002 that he would defy statistics and accomplish so much in his career before the age of 40. He could not have fathomed setting up pyrotechnics for Blue Angels Flight Demonstrations, dining with former presidents or becoming a decorated Iraq Veteran.
He did all of this and more with retirement now on the horizon, a lifetime of stories, and a career to be proud of.
Baxter enlisted through the delayed entry program and graduated from Kirby High School in Memphis, Tennessee in 2002. He admits that his path to the Navy formed less from choice than pure happenstance.
“I did not really know what I wanted to do after high school, but I knew that I did not want to go to school anymore,” he said. “I had always thought that joining the military would be something I would like, so I figured ‘why not?’. I joined the Navy because my recruiter at the time, Aviation Structural Mechanic 2nd Class Sam Neil, was the first recruiter to talk to me. I was not exactly a hard sell.”
When it came time to choose a rating, Baxter was nudged toward the aviation community by Neil due to his own familiarity, but he was immediately disqualified from one option. Standing tall at 6 feet 9 inches, he knew becoming a pilot was not in the cards and landed on Aviation Ordnance (AO).
“My recruiter pushed that side of the fleet, and when they got to AO they mentioned explosives and bombs. That sounded pretty cool to a 17-year-old, so I said, ‘Done; sign me up.’,” Baxter explained.
Memphis Native, Navy Chief Reflects on Two Decades of Service
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AO: Aviation Ordnanceman
Aviation Ordnanceman (AO)
AO: Aviation Ordnanceman Aviation Ordnanceman (AO)
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