Mid-Michigan Soldiers and Sailors – Today: Holt’s Petty Officer 1st Class Joseph Hopkins

These blogs are a great place to joke around and bring you some of the crazier stories floating around the internet, and a lot of the "real" news is either divisive or, frankly, depressing. So why not give you some good news?

I get dozens of emails everyday from people wanting me to tell you about their books or their music or their websites. Lately, I've been getting press releases from the U.S. Navy, with news about men and women from Mid-Michigan who are doing great work for us, all over the world. I think it's time to recognize that work right here. So here goes.

Today we recognize Navy Petty Officer 1st Class Joseph Hopkins from Holt. Hopkins graduated from Holt High School in 2005 and now he's an aviation structural mechanic working on the EA-18G Growler. The Growler is an electronic countermeasures aircraft, based on the F-18 airframe (a more hi-tech version of the plane the Blue Angels fly). Hopkins is based at Whidbey Island in Washington state with Electronic Attack Squadron 132 (VAQ-132), nicknamed the "Scorpions". If they're reading this, I'm gonna need one of those patches or a hat or something. Hopkins works on the control surfaces and landing gear of the EA-18G. And believe me, the landing gear on one of those takes a beating every time they make a carrier landing. So, I'm sure Joseph (I don't know him well enough to call him Joe, yet) keeps busy.

Here's the rest of the press release, with some quotes from Petty Officer Hopkins.

Thank you Joseph, for your service.

We'll keep bringing you these press releases about local soldiers and sailors as we get them.

Banana Don and Stephanie McCoy amuse and thrill you every weekday morning from 5:30 – 10AM on the radio at 100.7 WITL.

Banana Don can be reached via email at don.jefferson@townsquaremedia.com and on Twitter at @WITLBananaDon and @WITLFM. Also, Facebook friend Banana Don and Stephanie at Facebook.com/BananaStephanie and Facebook.com/WITLFM.