Sailor Who Works With Explosives 'Scared & Excited' About Oklahoma Tornadoes

Hundreds of men and women from Oklahoma join the Navy and serve all over the world.

On a recent trip to visit the USS George H.W. Bush, we met one sailor who just moved to Oklahoma this month. 

The power of F/A-18s taking off and landing on the USS George H.W. Bush creates a nearly constant roar on board. The fighter jets are tested all day and night, so pilots and crew members are ready for anything. But before they can take off from the flight deck, the planes spend time in maintenance.

“The best part of my job is definitely fixing airplanes and getting them to fly,” AME2 Petty Officer Second Class Rene Silvavory said. “They break a lot. They’re like cars. They break all the time.”

Silvavoray is a jet engine mechanic, who works on explosives on the canopy ejection seats and all the emergency systems. 

“Live explosives, of course,” he said. “They’re always live. We have pins to make sure nobody gets hurt.”

But at his new home, he’ll face a different kind of risk. Silvavory has never been to Oklahoma before.

The Legacy Of President H.W. Bush Lives On In The U.S. Navy 

“I’ve heard about the tornadoes,” he said. “So I’m like, scared and excited at the same time.”

He’s been working on F/A-18s for 10 years but said he’s ready to try something new. He will work on the E-6 Mercury in Oklahoma. Back in November when we met Silvavory, he told us he wasn’t exactly sure what his work would look at Tinker Air Force Base.

“Turning wrenches is turning wrenches. So, I’ll turn wrenches all day,” he said. “That makes your job worth it. Putting people in the air.”