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Stephen attended the United States Naval Academy. While at the Naval Academy, he earned his Basic Jump Wings after training with the 101st Airborne at Fort Benning and competed in intercollegiate pole vaulting. He graduated from the Naval Academy in 1995 with a Bachelors Degree in Ocean Engineering. Upon graduation, 1st Lieutanant Acosta reported to MCB Quantico for training in The Basic Shcool (TBS).
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After TBS, 1st. Leutenant Acosta reported to NAS Pensacola to begin Flight School. During this time he was attached to the VT-4 Warbucks, the VT-10 Wildcats and the VT-86 Sabrehawks. After recieving his Naval Flight Officer Wings in June of 1997, he reported to the Sharpshooters of VMFAT-101 at MCAS El Toro to become a Weapons System Operator (WSO) in the F/A-18 Hornet. Fozzy, as he was now known, received orders to VMFA (AW)-224, the Fighting Bengals at MCAS Beaufort.
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Fozzy flew with VMFA (AW)-224 for nearly fours years. During that time he attended TopGun at NAS Fallon followed by Weapons and Tactics Instructor school (WTI), the Marine Corps graduate school of TopGun at MAWTS-1, in MCAS Yuma. Upon graduation, Fozzy was invited to return as an instructor. He finished his tour with VMFA (AW)-224 as the squadron's WSO Training Officer, and completed 2 WestPac deployments. | |
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After departing MCAS Beaufort Fozzy reported to MCB Camp Pendleton as the Assistant Air Officer and the Forward Air Controller (FAC) for the 3rd Platoon, Force Recon unit of the 15th Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU). His was one of the first units to cross the berm into Iraq at the start of Operation Iraqi Freedom. His unit took the city of Umm Qsar, & secured the port at Az Zubayar before moving into An Nasiriyah and aiding in the rescue of PFC Jessica Lynch.
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As an instructor at Marine Aviation Weapons and Tactics Squadron 1 (MAWTS-1) at MCAS Yuma, a unit that combines all aspects of USMC elements to teach battlefield cohesion, Fozzy acted as a WTI instructor in the F/A-18 Hornet and as a FAC. As the Marine Corps FAC Expert, he helped re-write FAC doctrine. He was awarded the Meritorious Service Medal after a near fatal Harrier mishap for which he was credited with saving both the pilot and his aircraft. | |
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10 years into his service with the United States Marine Corp as an F/A-18D WSO and a FAC, Fozzy was accepted into the Pilot Transition Program, moving, from the back seat, into the front seat of the F/A-18 Hornet. The highly respected teacher was once again a student as he persued his Naval Aviator Wings.
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Fozzy completed Primary Flight School in the T-34's of the VT-27 Boomers at NAS Corpus Christi and the jet syllabus in the T-45 Goshawk jet trainer with the VT-21 Red Hawks at NAS Kingsville. He completed his Carrier Qualifications on February 3rd, 2007 on board the USS Truman. His Naval Aviator Wings were pinned on March 23rd, 2007 in Kingsville, Texas by his wife, Kara. | |
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Major Acosta started training in the F/A-18 Hornet in June 2007 at NAS Oceana in Virginia with the VFA-106 Gladiators. He expects to return to the fleet at MCAS Beaufort in South Carolina in the late spring of 2008.
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