VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. — The U.S. Navy is celebrating its 247th birthday this week. The theme for this year is 'on watch 24/7 -- for 247 years.'
Even when sailors inside the Fleet Area Control and Surveillance Facility at Naval Air Station Oceana are off the clock, they're still, in a way, on the clock, monitoring what they eat and drink all day long in order to keep us safe.
"You can't have a certain amount of caffeine, we have to watch out for what supplements we take," said Air Traffic Controller AC2 Melanie Amweg. "Anything can affect you. Even as something as a seasonal allergy med, you can get drowsy from that. We can't get drowsy on the job."
Certain screens inside the facility show little blue dots which represent aircraft, carrying people to see their loved ones or maybe on a family vacation. If it weren't for these sailors working around the clock, nothing would be possible.
FACSFAC VACAPES, also known as the Giant Killers, work nonstop to support Homeland Defense, promote combat readiness, and manage air and sea travel.
To put it simply, we couldn't exist without them.
Every year on the Navy's birthday, sailors like AC1 Sherly Poma are reminded of why they joined and stayed.
"My family is a family of immigrants, so I wanted to help out my family as much as I could," she said. "I've learned to really love the sailors I lead and all the people I get to lead and traveling. I've really loved it."
