Senior Chief Coley was born December 1985 in Memphis, TN. He enlisted in the Navy June 2004 as a Naval Aircrewman. Following Naval Aircrew Candidate School, ATO “A” school in Pensacola and SERE school in San Diego, he reported to Fleet Air Reconnaissance Squadron SEVEN, Tinker Air Force Base, Oklahoma for initial training as an In-flight Technician on the Navy’s E-6B Mercury aircraft.

His follow-on orders and first sea duty assignment were to Fleet Air Reconnaissance Squadron THREE (VQ-3). In 12 months, he earned his “wings of gold” and was designated as an In-Flight Technician. In 2008, he deployed to Al Udeid, Qatar, to support Operation Iraqi Freedom. He was hand-selected to work with PMA-271 and VX-20 to perform operational testing and evaluation of the first Block I modified E-6B aircraft. During this first five-year sea tour, he earned Enlisted Aviation Warfare Specialist, Collateral Duty Inspector, and Quality Assurance Representative qualifications and was promoted to Second Class Petty Officer.

His first shore tour was to Fleet Air Reconnaissance Squadron SEVEN (VQ-7) to be an FRS instructor, where he became a NATOPS Instructor and Master Training Specialist. While at VQ-7, Petty Officer Coley was promoted to First Class Petty Officer. In 2013, he transferred back to sea duty to Fleet Air Reconnaissance Squadron FOUR (VQ-4), where he quickly requalified as a Collateral Duty Inspector and Quality Assurance Representative. He was also qualified as an ACTC level 500 Weapons Tactics Instructor and designated the Lead NATOPS Instructor and LPO of the NATOPS Department. Between deployments in 2016, he earned his associate degree in electronics. That year, he was awarded the first annual Strategic Communications Wing ONE (SCW-1) Communicator of the Year, the USSTRATCOM NC3 Leadership Award, and the COMNAVAIRPAC Aircrewman of the Year. He was promoted to Chief Petty Officer in 2017.

His second shore tour was to the SCW-1 Weapons and Tactics Unit. In 2019, he became a “Plank Owner” of the newly commissioned TACAMO Weapons School (TWS). He held positions as the Operations Department LCPO, Training Department LCPO, and Tactics Department LCPO. After a successful shore tour at TWS, he returned to VQ-4 for a third sea tour, where he held positions as the Operations Department LCPO, Training Department LCPO, and Communications Department LCPO. He graduated from the Senior Enlisted Academy in December 2021 and completed his Bachelor’s Degree in Information Systems Management. During this tour, he was promoted to Senior Chief Petty Officer. Currently, he serves as the TACAMO Weapons School Senior Enlisted Leader.
Senior Chief Coley’s personal awards include the Air Medal (Strike/Flight), Navy Commendation Medal, Navy-Marine Corps Achievement Medal and various campaign and service medals. He has accumulated over 4800 hours in the E-6B.

 

Last Updated: 27 November 2024