Six runways, 8,300 acres, 251 miles of roadway, 17 miles of Gulf shoreline, 1,500 buildings and structures, and about 23,000 people. That all became the responsibility of Capt. Keith Hoskins ’88 when he was named commander of Naval Air Station Pensacola in Florida last March.
The former Griffon football player says he enjoys a challenge, and with that many responsibilities, every day is definitely a challenge.
In fact, it was the challenge of landing an airplane on an aircraft carrier that cemented his decision to join the U.S. Navy in 1989 and train to become a pilot. That career has taken him all over the world as he served his country, accumulating more than 3,400 flight hours and 570 aircraft carrier landings. He earned the Defense Meritorious Service Medal, Meritorious Service Medal (three awards), Air Medal (three awards with combat “V”*), Navy Commendation Medal (three awards with combat “V”), Navy Achievement Medal (two awards), to name a few.
Hoskins knew as a high school student that he wanted to be a pilot, but he was undecided about which military branch he would join when he graduated from Parkville High School in Parkville, Mo. and came to Missouri Western on a full football scholarship. His brother, Tim, had been a Griffon a few years earlier, and coming to Missouri Western would give him the chance to play with two cousins on the team.
“Football was a love, but I didn’t know how far I would go. My back-up plan was to study engineering, and that became my primary plan,” he said with a laugh. “But to have the opportunity to play college football is wonderful. As a team, we fought hard and we gave it our all.”
He also fondly remembers Missouri Western for its small class sizes, personal attention from professors and a great atmosphere for learning.
After graduating with an electrical engineering technology degree, Hoskins joined the U.S. Navy, completed Aviation Officer Candidate School in 1989 and was designated a naval aviator in 1992. He earned a master’s degree in national resource strategy and policy from the Industrial College of Armed Forces in 2012 and became commander of NAS Pensacola in March 2013.
The Pensacola assignment was his first choice of location, Hoskins says, even putting it ahead of Hawaii. “I appreciate the opportunity to come back to where every single aviator comes through these gates. I’m very blessed and honored.”
NAS Pensacola, known as “Cradle of Naval Aviation,” is also the home of the Blue Angels, the Navy’s prestigious flight demonstration squadron. As a young boy, Hoskins watched a Blue Angels demonstration and told his father that’s what he wanted to do when he grew up. That dream became a reality in 1999 when he was selected for the team.
“It was one of the toughest things I’ve ever done,” he says of his time as a Blue Angel. “It’s about precision, pride and professionalism, and we seek perfection in everything we do, 24-7.”
In the last year of his three-year stint, he was the lead solo pilot orchestrating maneuvers, and the operations officer for the team.
Hoskins believes being on the Blue Angels team made him a better person and taught him how to be a leader, and he says he uses those leadership skills in his role as commander of NAS Pensacola.
“This is exactly where I want to be. I have taken on a role to be a good steward of taxpayer dollars and support NAS operations and training,” Hoskins said. “That’s what I look forward to every day.”
*Combat “V”: In the U.S. Navy, the Combat “V” device denotes those individuals who were awarded a decoration as a result of direct combat with an enemy force. It may also signify an accomplishment of a heroic nature or valorous acts in direct support of operations against an enemy force.