It may not rival some of the drama of some of his previous work, but the audience is likely to be larger when Camden native Lt. Greg Stammen takes to the skies Sunday afternoon.
Stammen, a Navy pilot who two years ago flew 48 combat missions for more than 180 combat hours in support of Operation Enduring Freedom while deployed in Afghanistan, will be flying in the pregame ceremonies for Sunday’s NFL playoff game between the Denver Broncos and Indianapolis Colts at Mile High Stadium in Denver, Colorado.
The AFC divisional-round contest is scheduled to kick off at 4:45 p.m.
Stammen graduated from Camden Hills Regional High School in 2003, where as a senior he earned second-team All-Kennebec Valley Athletic Conference and KVAC All-Academic recognition after helping the Windjammers’ basketball team advance to the Eastern Maine Class B semifinals.
He has been serving in the U.S. Navy for the past seven years as a pilot and is assigned to the “Vampires” of Air Test and Evaluation Squadron 9 in China Lake, California, where he is an operational test director for E/A-18G operational flight programs.
Stammen graduated from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University and was commissioned in December 2007. In January 2008, he began flight training as a student naval aviator in Pensacola, Florida, with his training continuing in Corpus Christi, Texas, and Meridian, Mississippi, where he earned his wings in July 2010.
Stammen then was selected to fly the E/A-18G Growler, an American carrier-based electronic warfare aircraft, at Naval Air Station Whidbey Island, Washington, where he was assigned to “Vikings” of Electronic Attack Squadron (VAQ) 129 for his initial training in the Growler.
In September 2011, Stammen reported to the “World Famous Black Ravens” at VAQ-135 for his fleet tour. While on board with VAQ-135 in 2012, he deployed to Bagram, Afghanistan, from where he flew his combat missions.
Upon completion of his fleet tour, Stammen was assigned to the “Vampires” of Air Test and Evaluation Squadron 9 in China Lake, located 150 miles northeast of Los Angeles and nextled in the westernmost part of the Mojave Desert.
The VX-9 “Vampires” are charged with the testing and evaluation of weapons and their related systems in direct support of the U.S. Naval Aviation Fleet. VX-9 has 67 officers, 350 enlisted personnel and 28 aircraft, including the FA-18E/F Super Hornet, FA-18C/D Hornet, AV-8B Harrier, AH-1 Cobra and UH-1 Huey.
Typically, air crew are qualified in more than one of these aircraft types, increasing their versatility and providing broader-based expertise to be applied to each project. VX-9’s mission has grown since its inception to include the operational evaluation of attack, fighter and electronic warfare aircraft, weapons systems and equipment, and to develop tactical procedures for their employment.