Published: November 06, 2009 04:32 pm      

Familiar Faces

Military news

Judd Hailey was commissioned to second lieutenant on Sept. 10, 2009, at Keesler Medical Center. Hailey has served nine and a half years on active duty with seven of them at Keesler Air Force Base in Biloxi, Miss.

Hailey, the husband of Lawana Hailey and the son of Bobby and Celestine Hailey of Corsicana, is a 1995 graduate of Corsicana High School and attended Navarro College. He joined the military in 2000 and enlisted as a surgical technician and was stationed at Keesler. He received his Bachelor of Science in Nursing on July 24, 2009, from the University of South Alabama College of Nursing in Mobile, Ala., where he also received the Excellence in Practice Award. On Sept. 4, 2009, the Mississippi Board of Nursing notified Hailey that he passed the National Council Licensure Examination and was officially a registered nurse.

Since being commissioned as second lieutenant, Hailey has been attending an Officer Training School at Maxwell Air Force Base in Montgomery, Ala., and then will complete a nurse training program at Nellis Air Force Base in Las Vegas, Nev. Once the training is complete and he returns to Keesler Medical Center he will work on the medical/surgical unit. His future goal is to complete his Doctor of Nursing Practice in acute care.



Navy Petty Officer 3rd Class Bradley J. Turquette and fellow sailors of Patrol Squadron 10 “Red Lancers” (VP-10), Naval Air Station Jacksonville, Fla., recently completed the fourth month of their six-month deployment to the Navy’s Africa Command and Central Command, operating from bases in Quatar, Djibouti, and Japan.

While deployed, the Lancers have conducted operations in support of Operations Iraqi Freedom and Enduring Freedom to include maritime security operations; anti-submarine warfare; intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance; routine maritime patrol and anti-piracy missions in the Arabian Gulf, Gulf of Oman, the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Aden and maintained a 99.5 percent sortie completion rate.

The Lancers introduced a contingent from Patrol Squadron One “Screaming Eagles” (VP-1) to Central Command theater of operations during the Screaming Eagles’ two-day visit from Widbey Island, Wash. The Screaming Eagles will replace the Lancers at the conclusion of the units deployment in December.

In Djibouti, during a “Non Sibi” day, the Lancers helped distribute 10,000 units of clothing donated by Carter’s Inc., Atlanta, Ga. The influx of 270 boxes temporarily shut down the camp post office until the sailors loaded the donations on a truck and moved them into storage. The donations were then distributed with the assistance of the base staff, U.S. Embassy personnel and the Ministry of Women and Family Affairs.

Turquette’s wife, Angela, is the daughter of Francis and Ansel H. Brewer of Frost.



Navy Seaman Ivan Reyna, son of Maria C. and Venancio Reyna of Corsicana, recently completed U.S. Navy basic training at Recruit Training Command, Great Lakes, Ill.

During the eight-week program, Reyna completed a variety of training which included classroom study and practical instruction on naval customs, first aid, firefighting, water safety and survival, and shipboard and aircraft safety. An emphasis was also placed on physical fitness.

The capstone event of boot camp is “Battle Stations.” This exercise gives recruits the skills and confidence they need to succeed in the fleet. “Battle Stations” is designed to galvanize the basic warrior attributes of sacrifice, dedication, teamwork and endurance in each recruit through the practical application of basic Navy skills and the core values of honor, courage and commitment. Its distinctly ‘’Navy’’ flavor was designed to take into account what it means to be a sailor.

Reyna is a 2009 graduate of Corsicana High School.