By Helen Burkett Prencke
“Go Navy! Beat Army!” is a cry most frequently heard at the Army-Navy football game each December. It was this cry that motivated Trey Wiggins (the older son of Robert and Pam Wiggins) to apply for, and attend, the United States Naval Academy. Wiggins said he was motivated to attend the Naval Academy after watching the Army-Navy football game on television when he was in high school. He’d already played on Appling County High School’s Pirate football team at the Georgia Dome in 1999, so this would be a new and exciting challenge. While at the Naval Academy, Wiggins pursued a Bachelor of Science in Political Science and graduated in 2006. At his Graduation Ceremony on May 26, 2006, former Vice President Dick Cheney delivered the Commencement Speech. After working to achieve his “Wings of Gold” Wiggins learned to fly Lockheed P-3 Orions—and that’s when the excitement started…
WHERE ARE THEY NOW - Trey Wiggins - Go Navy!
During his time in the Navy Wiggins has completed tours in the Middle East, Africa and stateside. While in the Middle East Wiggins served in Iraq during Operation Iraqi Freedom completing surveillance missions. Later, he was part of the Ready Crew after the 2004 Haiti Earthquake collecting video surveillance of the damage while circling Port-Au-Prince. “It reminded me a lot of when I was in Mogadishu; it was just a wreck,” said Wiggins. In 2009, he completed one of his most memorable assignments: being the first plane on station when Somali pirates overtook the Maersk Alabama in the Indian Ocean. “By time we got there, the pirates were still on board in the engine room. We spoke with the crew on the radio—we could hear the crew swearing at the pirates! We watched Captain Phillips get into the life boat with the pirates.” (Sadly, if you try to spot Trey in the movie, Captain Phillips, you’ll be disappointed since he revealed that his plane was replaced in the movie with a drone!)
Currently, Lieutenant Commander Wiggins serves as a USNR- Executive Officer of Navy Reserve Personal Development Center in New Orleans, Louisiana. He is also pursuing his Master’s in Business Administration through Texas A&M, Corpus Christi. When asked, Wiggins said his greatest personal achievement is his family—his wife, Alex, and two-year-old daughter, Crosby. Professionally, Wiggins is proud to say he has mentored 23 “onwings” (student pilots) to their first solo flights. When asked what it’s like to teach people how to fly, he said, “Well, you’re a lot closer to dying than you would be in a car!” Wiggins also said he plans to return to Baxley after completing his time in the Navy and work with his father, Robert Wiggins, Jr. He wants the opportunity to give back to his community—and hopefully even run for public office one day! When asked why he wants to return to Baxley one day (after having travelled all over the world with the Navy) Wiggins said, “Because it has always been, and will always be, my home.”
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