TF alum honored for Navy service

After a 13-month post as Commander of a squadron, Peter Haynes, a 1996 graduate of Thompson Falls High School, is moving on with the U.S. Navy.

The change of command ceremony was held at Tinker Air Force Base in Oklahoma. During the change of command ceremony, Haynes was also awarded the Meritorious Service Medal. According to Haynes, the ceremony is unique among the services in that the command change is so immediate. Haynes said that this is because traditionally in the Navy, sea ships needed an immediate change of command, especially when at sea, so that there was never a question of who was in charge. He also added that, to his knowledge, this would be the first time in the Navy one member of a set of twins has transferred command to another member of another set of twins. Haynes' subordinate, who will be taking over command, also has a twin brother.

Commander Haynes was succeeded in duty by Commander Roger Davis. Haynes served as the Commander of the Fleet Air Reconnaissance Squadron 3 (VQ-3s) for a year, and in that time oversaw 850 sorties (flight missions) and 18,785 maintenance actions.

During his 13-month tour, Commander Haynes oversaw over 720 people in three different locations, most of whom resided at Tinker. According to Lieutenant Michael Herbert, one of Haynes' subordinates, "He's been a terrific leader for us. We have been very fortunate, especially over the last year." Herbert referred to the year of the coronavirus, which he says caused the squadron great difficulty.

During the change of command ceremony, Haynes' brother Brady was the guest speaker. Brady joined the Navy with his brother and served on active duty for seven years. According to Brady, he wanted to be a nuclear engineer and his brother, Peter, wanted to fly. Their grandfather was a Master Chief in the Navy, and during summer visits he regaled them with exciting stories from his days of service. Both young men were also "influenced by someone who made it as a Navy man," said Peter. Both went into the Reserve Officers' Training Corp (ROTC) and got scholarships for the Navy, Airforce and Army. When the twins showed their grandfather, he thought that was wonderful and told them "you can take any of those, as long as it is the Navy," recited Brady.

Peter would go on to graduate from the United States Naval Test Pilot School, and Brady would earn a bachelor's degree in nuclear engineering and a master's in mechanical engineering. Peter continued with a distinguished and varied military career and Brady provided technical oversight of naval reactor safety. Both followed the paths they wanted. After his military service, Brady went into the private sector and, according to him, did the same thing but as a civilian. Brady still handles the safety and engineering of nuclear submarines and worked often with his brother, in what Peter dubbed "twin organizations."

The VQ-3s are part of the United States' system of Take Charge and Move Out (TCAMO), or what they call "survivable communications." These are systems that facilitate continued communication between the president of the United States and submarines, bombers and missile silos during the event of nuclear warfare. This squadron has been around since 1963, when it was a detachment based out of Hawaii. Today, the squadron employs Boeing E6B Mercury airborne command posts. These are specially outfitted communications relay aircraft. The squadron is based out of Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. According to Commander Haynes, he was in command of eight aircraft, each valuing over $450 million each, and they cover the communicational operations of the nuclear triad for most of the west coast.

Commander Peter Haynes will go on to be stationed in Italy in July. This is a station he said has wanted for a long time. There, he will be in command of Sixth Fleet for three years.