Expand<\/a><\/p>\nSchwarz joins the 346 California residents currently serving in the Peace Corps. More than 31,243 residents from this state have served in the Peace Corps since 1961.<\/p>\n
Peace Corps volunteers serve in host communities for two years after three months of training and receive a living stipend, housing, extensive language and technical training, and financial benefits that can include graduate school fellowships after service.<\/p>\n
Interested individuals are encouraged to apply online. Visit peacecorps.gov to learn more about Peace Corps volunteer service in 60 countries.<\/p>\n
\u2013 Submitted by Peace Corps<\/p>\n
From Westminster to the heartland, sailor supports U.S. Navy\u2019s \u201cTake Charge and Move Out\u201d mission<\/p>\n
Every sailor\u2019s story of naval service is unique. For Petty Officer 2nd Class Nathan Pendleton, the story began in Westminster, where skills and values he learned there would be foundational to success in the Navy.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy coaches taught me the importance of leadership,\u201d Pendleton said. \u201cIn the Navy, I use those skills to lead sailors below me and to teach them the things they need to know.\u201d<\/p>\n
Pendleton graduated from Marina High School in 2019. He joined the Navy five years ago.<\/p>\n
Today, Pendleton serves as an aviation structural mechanic (safety equipment) assigned to Fleet Air Reconnaissance Squadron Three (VQ-3) in Oklahoma City.<\/p>\n
He supports the nation\u2019s nuclear deterrence mission at Strategic Communications Wing One (STRATCOMMWING ONE). Its \u201cTake Charge and Move Out\u201d (TACAMO) mission provides airborne communication links to nuclear missile units of U.S. Strategic Command.<\/p>\n
The Navy\u2019s presence on an Air Force base in a landlocked state may seem strange, but the position is strategic, allowing squadrons to quickly deploy around the world in support of the TACAMO mission.<\/p>\n
\u201cServing in the Navy means I am fighting for our country\u2019s freedoms,\u201d Pendleton said.<\/p>\n
\u2013 Submitted by Megan Lemly, Navy Office of Community Outreach<\/p>\n
Fullerton mayor honors local hero\/legend<\/p>\n
In recognition of Law Enforcement Appreciation Day, Fullerton Mayor Fred Jung honored Chief Pat McKinley for his remarkable 42-year law enforcement career, which includes roles with the LAPD as a SWAT officer and as chief of police in Fullerton.<\/p>\n
After serving four years in the U.S. Air Force, McKinley joined the LAPD in 1968 and volunteered as one of just 75 original officers selected to form the newly created SWAT (Special Weapons and Tactics) unit.<\/p>\n
Over 25 years with SWAT, he responded to more than 100 high-risk incidents, including kidnappings, bank robberies and hostage situations involving barricaded suspects.<\/p>\n
McKinley spent 29 years with the LAPD, rising to the rank of captain before relocating to Fullerton in 1993 to serve as chief of police.<\/p>\n
He retired in May 2009, concluding a career defined by leadership, courage and public service. He now lives at Sea Bluffs Senior Living community in Dana Point.<\/p>\n
McKinley shared a few words of advice for anyone considering a career in law enforcement.<\/p>\n
\u201cDo it! Come on the job, enjoy it. It\u2019s a wonderful career, and it has many promotional opportunities, and the pay is pretty darn good. Beyond that, there\u2019s many perks such as the public employee retirement system, which is just dynamite.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Bravo! section highlights achievements of our residents and groups. Send news of achievements for consideration to ocrbravo@gmail.com.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Mission Viejo resident begins Peace Corps service in Ecuador Madeline Schwarz of Mission Viejo has been accepted into…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":200932,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[36],"tags":[163,165,164,10316,7,611,77],"class_list":{"0":"post-200931","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-anaheim","8":"tag-anaheim","9":"tag-anaheim-headlines","10":"tag-anaheim-news","11":"tag-bravo","12":"tag-california","13":"tag-orange-county","14":"tag-uncategorized"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/200931","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=200931"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/200931\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/200932"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=200931"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=200931"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=200931"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
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<\/p>\n![\"Petty](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/OCR-L-BRAVO-0129-02.jpg?w=620\")
<\/p>\n![\"Retired](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/OCR-L-BRAVO-0129-03-1.jpg?w=620\")
<\/p>\n![\"Pat](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/OCR-L-BRAVO-0129-04.jpg?w=620\")
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