Article 6

LITCHFIELD – Navy Petty Officer 3rd Class James W. Tollick, son of Karen and Robert W. Tollick of Litchfield, and fellow Sailors of Patrol Squadron 10 “Red Lancers” (VP-10), Naval Air Station Jacksonville, Fla., recently completed their six-month deployment operating from bases in Quatar, Bahrain and Djibouti. While deployed, the Lancers conducted operations supporting Navy Joint and Coalition Forces in support of Operations New Dawn, Enduring Freedom and 5th Fleet Area of Operations (AOR) exercises and activities.The crew flew 6,320 flight hours during more than 900 sorties and maintained a 99 percent completion rate. VP-10 helped to fight the ever growing problem of piracy and prevented the smuggling of weapons in the Arabian Sea, Straits of Hormuz, Gulf of Oman, North Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Aden. Their efforts resulted in the capture of six pirates. Tollick is a 2007 graduate of Campbell High School in Litchfield, and joined the Navy in August 2007.