SAN ANTONIO \u2014 Just one year after joining the U.S. Navy, San Antonio native Isaiah Araiza is helping support one of the military’s premier aviation training commands while working toward a key qualification in his career.<\/p>\n
The 2024 Lanier High School graduate serves as an aviation structural mechanic (safety equipment) at the Naval Aviation Warfighting Development Center (NAWDC), better known as TOPGUN, aboard Naval Air Station Fallon in Nevada. The command trains Navy aircrews and develops the tactics and procedures used by the fleet’s fighter squadrons.<\/p>\n
Araiza said growing up in San Antonio taught him the value of hard work and perseverance, lessons he now applies every day in the Navy.<\/p>\n
“There’s a lot of friendly competition in the Navy. My friends push me, and I push them,” Araiza said. “Having the knowledge that nothing comes easy helps me move forward. There’s a lot of studying and a lot of parts of the jet you have to know to do this job and do it well. That I don’t know much yet pushes me to want to know more and to be the best at my job.”<\/p>\n
Araiza joined the Navy a year ago with the goal of traveling the world, working in aviation and setting an example for his younger siblings.<\/p>\n
“I joined the Navy to prove to my younger siblings that they could be someone,” he said. “I wanted to travel the world, and I liked aviation. I like getting my hands dirty, and because of the maintenance we get to do in the Navy, I felt like the Navy was the best option for me.”<\/p>\n
At TOPGUN, Araiza helps maintain the safety equipment used on Navy aircraft, ensuring pilots and crews are prepared for flight operations. NAWDC serves as the Navy’s premier air combat training command, providing advanced instruction and tactical development for aviators while supporting fleet readiness around the world.<\/p>\n
Araiza is currently working toward earning his plane captain qualification, a milestone that would allow him to direct aircraft and pilots during launch operations.<\/p>\n
“I’m working toward my plane captain qualification, which means I’ll be directing the pilot to launch,” Araiza said. “That qualification is very difficult to get. You have to know all the parts of the jet, the safety procedures while we’re launching the jet, and what to do if anything goes wrong. The average person gets it in six months, and I’ve been working toward it for two months.”<\/p>\n
As he continues to build his career, Araiza said serving in the Navy has contributed to a mission larger than himself.<\/p>\n
“Serving in the Navy means a lot to me,” Araiza said. “It gives me a chance to better myself and protect my country.”<\/p>\n
Araiza also credited his family for supporting him throughout his journey, thanking his parents and siblings for encouraging him every step of the way.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"SAN ANTONIO \u2014 Just one year after joining the U.S. Navy, San Antonio native Isaiah Araiza is helping…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":384571,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[82,84,83],"class_list":["post-384570","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-san-antonio","tag-san-antonio","tag-san-antonio-headlines","tag-san-antonio-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/384570","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=384570"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/384570\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/384571"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=384570"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=384570"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=384570"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}