Las Vegan’s son works on Orions

Dick Benoit

Thursday, April 19, 2001 | 9:29 a.m.

The return Saturday of the 24 Navy reconnaissance crewmen held hostage in China focused national attention on Naval Air Station Whidbey Island in Washington.

For one Las Vegan, however, the existence of that facility a few hours north of Seattle is not news. James Kenaley of Las Vegas has a son, James L. Kenaley, who is assigned there. As a matter of fact, Petty Officer 2nd Class Kenaley works on the anti-submarine warfare version of the P-3 Orion aircraft that the "Whidbey 24" were flying when hit by the Chinese fighter, forcing the emergency landing.

Kenaley is a member of "The Fighting Marlins" of Patrol Squadron 40 based at NAS Whidbey Island. He is an aviation mechanic who maintains and repairs airframes and hydraulic systems on the P-3C aircraft, and recently returned with the squadron after a deployment to the island of Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean.

There the squadron's aircraft and crews helped enforce United Nations sanctions in the Persian Gulf and provided support to the sailors of the USS Cole in the wake of a terrorist attack in Yemen.

The mission of VP-40 is to patrol foreign waters, providing maritime surveillance and anti-submarine warfare services, using the versatile Orion. The Orion, which carries a crew of up to 13, is armed with advanced submarine detection equipment and weapons systems.

Despite the inherent dangers of being forward deployed to the world hot spots, Kenaley still believes the foreign presence of units like his is the most significant signal the United States can send to its allies.

"It lets our allies know that we stick by our commitments and that we will always be there," he said.

In brief

* Army Pfc. Cherie Parshall, the daughter of Glen Parshall of Las Vegas, recently graduated from the cryptologic linguist specialist course at the Defense Language Institute in Monterey, Calif. The private was trained to speak and translate a foreign language under the guidelines of the Defense Foreign Language Program, which provides the Department of Defense and other federal agencies with linguists capable of supporting U.S. national interests worldwide.

* Army Pvt. Nicholas Chapline, the son of Bradley and Michele Chapline of Las Vegas, recently graduated from airborne training at the Army Airborne School, Fort Benning, Ga. Following vigorous physical training, the Army fire support specialists received practical training by jumping from 34-foot and 250-foot towers. In the final week they made five static-line parachute jumps, including one night jump from a plane.