President Jimmy Carter became the first U.S. president to live to be 100 years old Tuesday.
The Navy celebrated the occasion with a formation of four F-18 Super Hornets from Naval Air Station Oceana.
“He started off his formative years after graduating from the Academy in 1946 as a naval officer,” said Capt. Marvin Scott, commander of Air Wing 3. “I think that that's something that the Navy should be loud and proud about. If you want to devote a life of service to your country, the Navy is a great place to start, and President Carter did exactly that.”
Carter was part of the early years of the Navy’s nuclear submarine program.
In 1953, he was selected to be an engineer on board one of the first American nuclear powered submarines, the USS Seawolf. When Carter’s father died, he resigned from the Navy to return home to Georgia to help run the family business, according to the Navy.
Famous as a volunteer for Habitat for Humanity, the former president has not been seen in public in nearly a year. His wife, former first lady Rosalynn Carter, died in 2023.
The Navy pilots were tasked with flying over his home in Plains,Georgia at 12:30 pm, where the couple has lived since the 1960s.
“These types of engagements, say here's what President Carter did as a submariner, and here's what we do today, on behalf of the American people,” Scott said.
Air Wing 3 recently flew with the USS Eisenhower during a deployment to the Red Sea.
