Since joining the Navy 24 years ago, Capt. John W. Scanlan II has been on a fast-track, whirlwind career that today has put him in command of a major air depot in Jacksonville, Fla.
It's been a career that also saw the Lawrence High School and Kansas University graduate serve as navigator and bombardier in the cockpits of fighter bombers, at the forefront of weapons test programs and in the hallways of the Pentagon.
"It's been a fabulous experience for me, just to see the world and all the things the Navy recruiting poster told me about," Scanlan said in a recent telephone interview from Jacksonville.
On Aug. 4, Scanlan added a major rung to his career ladder during a ceremony that handed him the reins of the air depot, where the Navy relies on 4,000 civilian workers, 700 contractors and a few dozen military personnel to maintain and modify aging aircraft such as P3 Orion submarine hunters, F-14 Tomcat fighters and SH-60 Seahawk helicopters. Work also is done on the engines of some of the newer aircraft.
"The depot is kind of the equivalent of an auto body shop," Scanlan said. "We can take an aircraft in here and completely refurbish it and manufacture parts and repair it, overhaul it and send it back to the fleet as a new product."
Some of the parts needed for the older planes are remade at the depot because the original manufacturers are no longer in business.
Navy Capt. John W. Scanlan II, center, returns salutes earlier this month when he took over the command of the Naval Air Depot in Jacksonville, Fla., during a special ceremony held in a large hangar. Scanlan, who grew up in Lawrence, has been in the Navy for more than 20 years. He graduated from both Lawrence High School and Kansas University.
"We kind of reverse engineer some of them so we're able to make repairs," Scanlan said.
The Navy recognizes the age problem and is in the process of designing or obtaining newer aircraft, he said.
Navy's role important
The depot has tremendous support from the Jacksonville community because it is such a major employer, and workers are very involved in local organizations.
"It has a real strong impact on the city of Jacksonville and the area around Jacksonville," Scanlan said of the depot. "It's a good, strong, warm relationship that we have."
Scanlan sees his biggest challenge as continuing to improve production and getting the aircraft, parts and engines back to the customer more quickly.
Though the Navy no longer has a major super power such as the former Soviet Union to deal with, Scanlan doesn't see the Navy's role being reduced.
"The Navy has the ability to operate in international oceans and provide forces anywhere in the world, anytime," he said. "Unfortunately, there are a lot of opportunities around the world for the Navy to stay engaged."
Scanlan entered the Navy and in 1981 received his commission from the Naval Aviation Officer Candidate School in Pensacola, Fla. He wanted to be a pilot, but he couldn't meet the Navy's strict vision requirements for pilots. So he did the next best thing and trained as a bombardier/navigator in the A-6 Intruder bomber. He flew on patrol missions over "no fly zones" following the 1991 Iraq war when "there were still people who wanted to shoot at you."
Scanlan played football at Lawrence High and at KU in the early 1970s as a defensive lineman. It was in Lawrence during high school and college that he learned to fly planes and was a member of the Civil Air Patrol.
Proud parents
Scanlan and his wife and high school sweetheart, the former Amy Chappell, have a daughter and three grandchildren.
"They are a handful," he said with a chuckle.
Scanlan tries to return to Lawrence every couple of years to visit his parents, John Scanlan I and Helen Scanlan, as well as some old friends and former teammates, he said. His parents and his brother, Mike Scanlan, of Leawood, were able to attend the changing of command ceremony. They were impressed.
The elder Scanlan said he enjoyed hearing the Navy band perform while getting escorted by Navy personnel to the front row in front of the stage.
"That was very well done and something different for an old Army sergeant," said Scanlan Sr., who was an Army Air Corps nose gunner on a B-24 bomber during World War II. "We're real proud of him. He's done a great job in the Navy, and he's got a great command."
That command will last two years and then Scanlan must decide what's next on his career agenda.
"I'll have to look at that point and see what other jobs are out there that need to be done and decide whether it is time to do something else," he said. "The good thing about this job is I keep telling people I'm going to have to decide what I'm going to do when I retire and grow up."
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