Glendale native serves as naval crew airman

Gwendolyn Cheetham, a native of Glendale, serves the U.S. Navy and is assigned to Patrol Squadron (VP) 9 at Naval Air Station Whidbey Island in Washington.

Cheetham graduated from Greenway High School in Phoenix in 2021.

The skills and values needed to succeed in the Navy are similar to those found in Glendale.

“Growing up, I learned you need to have a hard work ethic and drive to get anywhere or be successful,” Cheetham stated in a press release. “You can’t just give the bare minimum in this job. It’s a lot of hard work and there’s a lot of intensive training that goes into it.”

Cheetham joined the Navy three years ago. Now she serves as a naval air crewman (operator).

“I had a whole bunch of family who joined the Navy and that influenced me, but I knew even when I was young that I wanted to join the Navy,” Cheetham stated.