THIS MONTH NNOA CELEBRATES THE SERVICE OF MUSTANG OFFICER

​LIEUTENANT COLONEL JASON B. DAVIS

United States Marine Corps, Retired

By Retired CDR Denise J. McCallaCreary, USN

LtCol Jason Davis served the United States Marine Corps from 11 June 1984 to 29 February 2016.  We began our conversation about his career going back to where it all started in the city of Baltimore, Maryland.

Joining the Marine Corps was not on LtCol Davis’ radar. He told himself “I would never join the Marine Corps for those guys are crazy.”  As a matter of fact, Davis tried to enlist in the National Guard having scored very high on the Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery Test (ASVAB) but quickly abandoned the National Guard when he discovered the recruiter was lying to him about being able to join the National Guard in his junior year of high school.  

Along came a sharp, persuasive Marine Corps Recruiter, Davis said, GySgt Alonzo M. Parker.   Parker invited him down to the recruiting station after talking to him on the phone for about an hour.  Davis went down, watched the Marine Corps recruiting video and was hooked.  That video sealed the deal.  Plus, I know I was not ready for college.  I had no money for college, and I had “discovered girls” so it was an easy decision at this point”, he said jokingly.

Davis pointed out that he had just graduated Baltimore City College, which is the 3^rd oldest high school in the nation.  He beamed with pride as he told me that the late Congressman Elijah Cummings and Commander William Bundy, one of the Centennial Seven, United States Navy, are both graduates.  He digressed to share that he made the discovery about him and Bundy graduating from the same high school, when they both noticed while in a National Naval Officers Association Board (NNOA) Board meeting, they were wearing the same class ring.   Davis went on to say his graduating class had 189 students and he had no idea his class rank.  Therefore, he knew he was making the right decision to join the Marine Corps.

Davis partied hard for eight days, then reported to Marine Corps bootcamp.  GySgt Parker had warned him that the training would push him to his limits, but he should remember no pain, no gain and try to have fun. Davis does not recall having fun but was very proud when he graduated and went on to Avionics ‘A” School in Millington, TN.  During his second tour of duty, Davis deployed to Okinawa with HMM-165 and Saudi Arabia for Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm with HMH-463. He served a tour of duty with the Presidential Helicopter Squadron HMX-1 under Presidents George H. W. Bush and William Jefferson Clinton.  

I asked him for a good story while in the squadron working for United States Presidents.  The day after the death of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ron Goldman we had a what was supposed to be an unannounced Presidential mission in Chicago.  Upon arrival at our hotel we were surprised to find the hotel surrounded by media.  Not having had access to the news all morning we were not aware of what happened.  It was not until a reporter knocked on the door of our hotel room asking if we had seen or heard anything that we learned of the tragedy.  As it turned out myself and Sgt Michael Fortin had been assigned not only the room next to where OJ stayed but an adjoining room. 

Davis was not satisfied to remain in the enlisted ranks as he felt as a Warrant Officer, he could bring about change to the way they did business in the Marine Corps Avionics community.  He decided he wanted to be a Warrant Officer and after five applications, he was selected for appointment in 1996.

In February 1997, Warrant Officer (WO) Davis, reported to The Basic School, Camp Barrett, MCB Quantico, VA as a student in the Warrant Officer Basic Course (WOBC).   Completing WOBC successfully in May of 1997, WO Davis reported to NAS Pensacola, FL as a student in the Aircraft Maintenance Officer (AMO) Short Course.

Upon completion of AMO School (WO) Davis reported to Commanding Officer MAG-29 for duty with HMM-365 as the Avionics Officer.  During his tour of duty with HMM-365 WO Davis deployed to the Mediterranean Sea aboard the USS Kearsarge (LHD-3) as part of the 26^th Marine Expeditionary Unit, Aviation Command Element (MEU ACE). He participated in OPERATIONS NOBLE ANVIL and SHINING HOPE in Albania, combat operations during OPERATION JOINT GUARDIAN in Kosovo and OPERATION AVID RESPONSE, providing humanitarian assistance to the people of Western Turkey. It was during this deployment that he met, then Capt David Everly another mustang who is now a Colonel and Commanding Officer of The Basic School.   Subsequent to the horrific attacks on our country on 11 September 2001, CWO3 Davis again deployed with HMM-365and the 26^th MEU, aboard the USS Bataan (LHD-5) in support of Operations Enduring Freedom and Swift Freedom.

Selected for Promotion to Limited Duty Officer, CWO3 Davis reported for duty with the Center for Naval Aviation Technical Training, Marine Unit New River, NC in January 2002.  Promoted to Captain in January 2003, he served as the Officer in Charge CH-53 Maintenance Training Unit until January of 2005. This was another proud moment in the life of Davis as he had been a student himself at this school. Having up to as many as 250 students under his charge, he again felt he was able to affect the life of his students to make them the best in their craft as Avionics specialists.

Jason Davis went on to be promoted to Major and later LtCol retiring in 2016.  We could not conclude our conversation without asking when and why did he join NNOA.  “I was introduced to NNOA by CWO4 Anthony Harvey, USMC.  He encouraged me to attend a NNOA meeting with him so he could “introduce me to some people.”  We were both stationed at Camp Lejeune, he said, and I decided why not.  Davis remembers his first meeting being in the presence of General Walter Gaskins, then Colonel Bailey and LtCol Blair among others.  “I went to a few meetings from 1998-99 then assignment took me away from a Chapter and I reconnected back in 2001 in Quantico.  The rest is history as Davis has been active in NNOA ever since.  He served as the National Executive Board as their Public Relations Officer from 2008 – 2014 and took over the position of Membership Director in 2015 to present.  To wrap up our conversation, I asked him what advice would he give to our youth about military service?  LtCol Davis responded, “Learn your craft.  Have a thick skin. Be flexible.  Realize no good plans survives first contact.  No matter how good your plan is, when you come up on adversary you will have to make adjustments.”  Davis was quick to emphasize that the quote about planning is not his, but advice he got along the way.  And while he confessed that he does not recall who specifically gave him the advice, he took it to heart and survived to a retirement.

Authors note:  Some parts of the story was excerpted from LtCol Jason’s biography which can be viewed in its entirety at www.nnoa.org under Board of Directors.

NNOA is honored to celebrate LtCol Jason A. Davis career as a Mustang and appreciates his years of service to the National Naval Officers Association, the United States Marine Corps and the United States of America.