SAN DIEGO – A 2016 Rochelle Township High School graduate and Rochelle native is serving on one of the world’s largest warships, USS Carl Vinson

Seaman Alex Patterson is a logistics specialist aboard the San-Diego based ship, the third Nimitz-class nuclear-powered aircraft carrier and one of only 11 operational aircraft carriers in the Navy today.
As a logistics specialist, Patterson is responsible for ordering materials and supplies from different locations within the U.S. He distributes these throughout the ship to ensure the command is mission ready at all times.
Sailors’ jobs are highly varied aboard Vinson. Approximately 3,000 men and women make up the ship’s company, and they keep all parts of the aircraft carrier running. They do everything from preparing meals to handling weaponry and maintaining the nuclear reactors. Additionally, another 2,000 sailors comprise the air wing. These are the people who fly and maintain the aircraft embarked aboard the ship.
Patterson has carried lessons learned from his hometown into his military service.
“Growing up as a kid I was drilled three different rules into my head from my mom, they were, be polite, be respectful to superiors and always be fun to be around,” Patterson said. “I’ve carried these rules with me into the Navy and it’s made me a better person because of it.”

Vinson, like each of the Navy’s aircraft carriers, is designed for a 50-year service life. When the air wing is embarked, the ship carries more than 60 attack fighter jets, helicopters and other aircraft, all of which take off from and land aboard the carrier at sea.
Powerful catapults slingshot the aircraft off the bow of the ship, and those planes land upon their return to the aircraft carrier by snagging a steel cable with an arresting hook that protrudes from the rear of the aircraft. All of this makes Vinson a self-contained mobile airport and strike platform, often the first response to a global crisis because of an aircraft carrier’s ability to operate freely in international waters anywhere on the world’s oceans.
The ship was commissioned in 1982 and named after former Georgia Congressman, Carl Vinson. A member of the United States House of Representatives for 50 years, he was, for 29 years, the Chairman of the House Naval Affairs and Armed Services Committee. Vinson was the principal sponsor of the so-called “Vinson Acts,” culminating in the Two-Ocean Navy Act of 1940, which provided for the massive naval shipbuilding effort in World War II.
“Carl Vinson was a visionary congressman,” said Capt. Douglas Verissimo, commanding officer of USS Carl Vinson. “His support led to a stronger Navy that was pivotal in winning World War II and the Cold War. Our Sailors embody his commitment to service and bring to life a warship that has been an enduring asset to America’s defense for more than 35 years.”
Patterson has military ties with family members who have previously served and is honored to carry on the family tradition.
“My dad was in the Army during Operation Iraqi Freedom as a medical helicopter pilot and my great grandfather was in the Airforce as a boom operator,” he said. “Being in the military was never an idea for me until my senior year in high school. Then I saw the courage my father had over the years from serving in the military, so I felt obligated to serve and have the same courage as he does now.”
Patterson’s proudest accomplishment was being a part of the most athletic division during the bootcamp olympics. They received a divisonal flag for this accomplishment.
“Receiving the most athletic flag boot camp reflects on how much athletic ability I have and how much I have improved physically ever since,” he added.
As a member of one of the U.S. Navy’s most relied upon assets, Patterson and other Vinson sailors know they are part of a legacy that will last beyond their lifetimes.
“Serving in the Navy I’ve learned to look at myself not as a person, but a group of people who wants to better themselves and their country,” said Patterson.