SAN DIEGO -- The San Diego Padres knocked it out of the park sending a morale boost across the Pacific by partnering with U.S. Marines from Marine Aircraft Group 11, 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing, and local volunteers in building and sending care packages to deployed Marines with Marine Fighter Attack Squadron (VMFA) 232, MAG-11, 3rd MAW.
Each care package was filled with Padres merchandise, snacks, activity books and hygiene products, offering Marines both practical supplies and a reminder of support from home.
The San Diego Padres, a Major League Baseball team, have supported U.S. Service members for more than 30 years and continue this tradition by honoring the military during Sunday home games with service members in attendance, military aircraft flyovers, and the adoption of a deployed Marine Corps or Navy unit each year.
The Padres military ties trace back to retired U.S. Marine Corps Lt. Col. Jerry Coleman, a professional ballplayer, who paused his MLB career twice to fly in combat. The legacy continued through retired U.S. Navy Capt. Jack Ensch, who established the first military marketing department in professional sports with the San Diego Padres in 1995.
“Our military lineage goes back through Jerry and continued by Jack. San Diego has one of the highest concentrations of military personnel and families of any community,” said retired U.S. Navy Capt. Johnny Nilsen, the Padres’ military affairs adviser. “This is a military town, it’s a no brainer for an organization like the Padres who really want to make a genuine connection with the community, to connect with the heart of the community.”
VMFA-232, an F/A-18C/D Hornet squadron, is currently deployed with over 10 aircraft and approximately 250 personnel, including pilots, maintainers and support staff on a unit deployment program rotation to Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni, Japan, conducting bilateral training and deterrence in the Indo-Pacific region. Deployments to MCAS Iwakuni provide critical experience in the Indo-Pacific region to West Coast-based Marine aviators, enhancing readiness and capabilities for operations in a forward posture. That presence is vital, as MCAS Iwakuni offers a unique base location that supports U.S. and allied operations across the Pacific — from combat missions to joint training to humanitarian assistance and disaster response.
A flyover by two KC-130J Super Hercules aircraft from Marine Aerial Refueler Transport Squadron (VMGR) 352, MAG-11, opened the Padres’ Sept. 14 game at Petco Park. The flyover honored service members past and present while symbolizing the enduring connection between military aviation and the San Diego community. The support carried on days later as volunteers packed the care packages for VMFA-232.
Sgt. Maj. Kenneth Williamson, the command senior enlisted leader of MAG-11, 3rd MAW, describes what this support means to the Marines: “From a guy that deployed with a squadron before moving here, I was out in Japan in the winter months last year, this same rotation, and getting these care packages is huge for our Marines and Sailors, especially our young ones who aren’t as resilient. It has a huge impact.”