A Casper sailor is seen working on the USS Nimitz in a photo sent to media on Tuesday morning.
In the picture, Casper’s Lt. Amy Blades-Langjahr is shown as she monitors the landing area on the flight deck of the aircraft carrier USS Nimitz during deployment.
The photo is courtesy of Navy Office of Community Outreach, which according to the email collect images of Sailors to distribute to hometown media.
California-born Lt. Blades-Langjahr relocated to Casper in 2000 and says the town is one of her favorite places.
“I was born and raised in Southern California (Palos Verdes),” she said in an email to Oil City News provided by the U.S. Navy Office of Communications Outreach.
“However, my family moved in 2000 to Casper, Wyoming and that has been my home throughout my career in the Navy and will be for a long time to come. Casper is a beautiful city with amazing views in every direction! I am always in awe when I come home to visit as the weather can change in an instant.”Â
Lt. Blades-Langjahr’s full bio follows:
She joined the United States Navy on February 3rd of 1998. Reported to the USS John F. Kennedy (CV-67) in Mayport, FL on October 1st of 1998. As an undesignated Airman she was placed in Crash and Salvage within V-1 Division in Air Department working on the Flight Deck. Over the next five years she progressed to ABH3 (E-4, Aviation Boatswains Mate Handler), she qualified as Crash and Salvage Chief Petty Officer, a position normally held three paygrades higher than hers, and she took a backseat flight in an EA-6B Prowler (catapult launch and arrested recovery onboard JFK).
In 2003, she attended a highly sought after Fire Academy for her rate, the Lewis F. Garland Fire Academy in San Angelo, TX. She was advanced to ABH2 (E-5) and upon graduation and achieving multiple DoD Certifications, she transferred to NALF (Naval Auxillary Landing Field) Fentress in Chesapeake, VA as a member of the Crash and Rescue team. While there, she achieved her Associates Degree in Fire Science.Â
In 2006, she transferred to the USS Nimitz (CVN-68) in San Diego, CA and was back in Air Department, V-1 Division. This time as a Yellow Shirt Aircraft Director. It was from Nimitz that she was selected as the Navy’s only female Flying Chief Warrant Officer (CWO2).
She attended flight school in Pensacola, FL, Aviation Preflight Indoctrination, and the VT-4 Warducks. Transferred to Fleet Replacement Squadron, VP-30 in Jacksonville, FL to train in the P-3 as a Navigator, was selected to fly in the EP-3 and after her winging she was sent to the VQ-2 Rangers in Whidbey Island, WA in December of 2009. Qualifying as a Senior Tactical Evaluator, she also achieved the rank of CWO3. VQ-2 was sundowned and they merged with the VQ-1 World Watchers.Â
In December 2012 she transferred to Aviation Survival Training Center, Pensacola, FL as an Assistant Department head for Survival Swimming, then as Department Head for Aviation Physiology. During this tour, she selected CWO4, however the Flying Warrant Program was being terminated and instead pinned on Lieutenant (Naval Flight Officer).
She later transferred to the USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN-78) in 2015, as a TAO (Tactical Action Officer) within the Combat Direction Center. She transferred in 2016 and joined the team at Fleet Forces in Norfolk, VA. It was here that she completed her Bachelor’s Degree in Fire, Arson, and Explosion Investigation with Eastern Kentucky University. In 2019, she transferred to the USS Nimitz (CVN-68), this time as a Flight Deck Shooter and Air Department Division Officer.Â
Her husband and two young daughters live in Bremerton, WA. Awards of note, Air Medal, Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal (4), and Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal (2).Â
Having achieved a career as full as this one has been only makes me wonder what else is out there. Always look outside the box and love what you do.Â
