By By Fredie Carmichael / staff writer
May 13, 2002
The head of the Navy's Air Training Command will headline a monthly breakfast meeting of Meridian business leaders on Tuesday.
Rear Adm. John E. Boyington, chief of Naval Air Training, will speak at the East Mississippi Business Development Corp.'s Business Before Hours. The session begins at 7 a.m. at the Kahlmus Auditorium at Mississippi State University-Meridian Campus.
Boyington is in his second year in a position where he oversees five air training wings at five naval air stations including NAS Meridian.
Lamar McDonald, chairman of the Navy Meridian Team, said Boyington's visit is important to the future of NAS Meridian.
McDonald said he expects Boyington to speak on the importance of naval air training and how vital NAS Meridian is to the nation's military operations.
Boyington is a Pensacola, Fla. native and received his bachelor's degree from the University of West Florida. He received his master's degree in Aeronautical Engineering from the Naval Post Graduate School and a master's degree in National Resource Management from the Industrial College of the Armed Forces.
He is also a graduate of the Defense Systems Management College and the Naval Test Pilot School.
Boyington began his career as an Army warrant officer flying helicopter gun ships during the Vietnam War and received his "Wings of Gold" in December of 1973.
He has flown more than 600 armed combat missions in Vietnam, the Persian Gulf, Bosnia and Kosovo.