An Iowa native is in the thick of the military action in Afghanistan — but in a support role where he is not on the ground. Navy petty officer Roger Parkey grew up in Des Moines and is now serving aboard the U.S.S. Truman aircraft carrier in the Gulf of Oman. Parkey is a safety officer who oversees combat missions flown from the carrier.
Parkey says he’s usually on deck about 9:50 a.m. and finishes up about 10 p.m. His job is to observe what is going on and to look for violations of safety that he reports and then things are corrected. In an interview with Radio Iowa form the carrier, Parkey said secruity concerns prevent him from saying much about the operations, but he does say he is proud of the job they’re doing.
“I feel that what we’re doing is needed,” Parkey says,”I can’t really go into detail about the missions or anything like that, but what we’re doing is needed.” Parkey is 41 and a 1988 graduate of Des Moines Roosevelt High School.