The Interview: Capt. Chris Plummer

PENSACOLA, Fla. (WALA) - Naval Air Station Pensacola is a huge operation. It's more than 8,100 acres that contain four distinct installations and more than 21,000 military and civilian personnel.

 According to officials at NAS, NAS Pensacola has a $1.1 billion economic impact on our region.

Captain Chris Plummer has served as Commander of the huge operation for the past three years. He recently shared about his job, its challenges and his decision to serve in the U.S. Navy.

 "My dad was an Army officer, and I grew up overseas in the Middle East. I was kind of at a very young age attracted to that lifestyle, living at embassies, growing up in Jordan, Yemen and Lebanon. I thought this is exciting life. I like the adventure," Plummer recalled.   

For the last 27 years, Capt. Plummer has been on his adventure in the U.S. Navy.  This month, his latest tour as Commander of Naval Air Station Pensacola will end, as he passes the command over and heads to a new assignment in San Diego, California. Years ago, the career Navy man considered joining another branch of the military until Plummer's relationship with a very special person influenced his decision. 

"When I was in college, I actually pursued joining the Marine Corp. But then I met my wife to be whose father was a Naval Aviator, and she said, ‘Before you go down that path, why don't you check out the Navy?’ I did, and I just fell in love with it pretty quick; just the whole the maritime aspect and ‘haze gray and underway heading over the horizon.’ Her dad was an F-8 pilot, and he said, ‘Hey, you join the Navy, you've got to be a pilot,’” Plummer said.

"When I showed up to ACS right down here in Pensacola, Aviation Officer Candidate School; I was just a college guy and fresh out of school. But I can tell you almost instantly the esprit de corps, the camaraderie, the sense of purpose, being a part of something bigger than yourself, captured me. I actually enjoyed boot camp," Capt. Plummer remembered.

Like his father in law, Plummer earned "his wings" in Pensacola.

"I was attracted by that culture, the Naval Aviation piece seemed to really click. It's a technical skill so I liked that. My office space was an airplane, so I was learning a skill and carrier aviation is challenging. Mastering that and becoming expert at flying around the boat, on and off the boat at night, you're trying to become good at something that's difficult to become good at," Plummer stated. 

"I got most of my time almost 5,000 hours in the E2. It's not pretty; it’s kind of an ugly plane but an important mission. It was a challenge to fly well on and off the boat and so I enjoyed it. I grew to love it. Some of my greatest professional memories are flying off the boat, seeing things from the air. It’s just a lot of fun. You get paid to do it, and I loved it," Plummer shared.

Capt. Plummer also loved how the Navy's mission put him near the action.

"The Navy always, seems to be at the cutting edge and the tip of the spear. You're always where the action seems to be, and I really like that part of it. It’s challenging. There's something new every day. I spent my first 20 years being a pilot, and that culminated with being a Squadron C-O (Commanding Officer), which was phenomenal kind of the apex of a career flying and learning the mission. You get out of your flying career, and you start another chapter," Plummer said.  

The new chapter saw Plummer return to where he started his naval aviator career, NAS Pensacola, but this time as Base Commander.  Little did he know how challenging a job it would be.

"I showed up here kind of fresh, deer in the headlights and then I think ten days later the BP oil spill happened.  It was a huge trauma for the area obviously, had a lot of unknowns. We were getting about a thousand pounds of oil per day on the beaches. Trying to work through that was something that was unusual for the Navy.  We were a part of supporting something that wasn't in a playbook that I had read before, so we're kind of making it up as we're going along. That was challenging," remarked Capt. Plummer.

Once Plummer and other officials were able to get an understanding of the task at hand with the BP oil spill, Capt. Plummer was able to focus on learning his new job.

"This job is completely different from anything I've ever done so it took a long time to learn the skill sets.  The leaderships the same, but you're really mayor of a small town, we've got medical and security, and movie theaters and fire.  And public works is a huge part of my job, and so learning that was interesting.  The best part of it is dealing with peers that are doing what I'm doing, all the C-O's (Commanding Officers) of the major school houses on base. They are also passionate about what they're doing and so working as a team for a higher purpose which is getting young air force, navy and marines to the fleet.  Together we work to get them to the tip of the spear, it’s been really rewarding and I'm excited to come to