Coronado is the ‘Birthplace of Naval Aviation’ and also home to the Commander of Naval Air Forces, Vice Adm. Dan Cheever who took command on Jan. 31 as the Navy’s 10th Air Boss.
Vice Adm. Cheever’s career has taken him around the world, from duty stations in Japan and Washington D.C. to deployments around the globe, but he is happy to call Coronado home once again. Coronado is special to him as his triplet children graduated from Coronado High School while he was the Chief of Staff at Naval Air Forces in 2017. He shared that he is happy to be back in this wonderful community saying, “My favorite thing about Coronado is the people, it is an idyllic and beautiful location but it is the people who are so friendly and welcoming, especially to the military, and it is such a good tight knit community feel, you feel safe, you know you have good neighbors.” The Cheever triplets are all doing well, Alex just returned from his first Marine Corps Deployment, he is a First Lt. in the Military Police currently stationed in Yuma. Zack served in the Navy for four years and is using his GI Bill for college here in San Diego. Maddie is working in Colorado Springs after earning her Masters of Public Health from the University of Alabama.
Cheever grew up in Downer’s Grove, Illinois, where, he proudly shared, his mother Betty Cheever served as the first female mayor and longest serving mayor of the town. He went on to study business at Western Illinois University and worked for a Fortune 500 company in Pittsburgh, Penn. and later started his own company in California before joining the Navy. He felt drawn to Naval Aviation since he was 10 years old after seeing the Blue Angels fly a section of F-4s down the river at his county fair. He had talked with recruiters a couple of times over the years but it wasn’t until 1987 that he took the aviation test and signed up to go to Aviation Officer Candidate School in Pensacola starting in 1988.
Cheever’s first fleet squadron was VFA-195 stationed in Atsugi, Japan, and while there he met his wife Julee who was performing with an American Production Company in Japan. The connection was immediate and they were engaged within a month and have been happily married for 31 years.
An incredibly impressive career, Cheever served in numerous F/A 18 squadrons including an instructor tour at TOPGUN before commanding the Argonauts of VFA-147 in Lemoore, California. He also held command of TOPGUN, Carrier Air Wing Eight, Naval Aviation Warfighting Development Center, and Carrier Strike Group 4.
When asked his favorite flying memory he shared a story of a flight he did during Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan in which he supported the Australian Special Operation Forces on the ground being mortared by enemy fire. “The weather was not great and I penetrated the clouds down into a valley surrounded by mountains and flew a supersonic run to clear the enemy allowing our forces to conduct their mission. Later when we pulled into Perth, Australia on our way home from deployment I reconnected with the Special Operators and we had a great evening as allies who shared a mission and forged a connection. That is what it is all about, the connections.”
As the Navy’s Air Boss, Cheever is responsible for the mission to “Man, Train and Equip deployable, combat-ready Naval Aviation forces that win in combat.” When asked what his goals and priorities are Cheever said, “Treatment of our Sailors is one of my highest priorities… and ingraining a safety culture in the force and reducing our mishaps is important to me.” Cheever went on to say, “The high priority is to improve our Live Virtual Constructive (LVC) range so it is seamless, so that we can train to high end warfare with missions using live aircraft that are networked to our simulators and constructive environments and threats that are computer generated. We are working through security challenges and network and data challenges to improve LVC.”
Cheever closed our interview by saying, “Coronado and San Diego are both a gem for the Navy and especially Naval Aviation, with our three carriers and our squadrons, we are so grateful for the strong relationship with the community.”
Cheever will be addressing the Coronado Rotary Club on March 27 to get to know more of the local community.
