Navy veteran Sen. Rosino organizes oath ceremony at Capitol in celebration of Navy Week

OKLAHOMA CITY – If you’ve ever visited Sen. Paul Rosino’s office at the state Capitol, it’s evident how much he loves the U.S. Navy – it’s a showcase of pictures, memorabilia, awards, and more. Rosino, R-Oklahoma City, served in the Navy for 25 years, retiring at the rank of Master Chief Petty Officer. For nearly 10 years, he was stationed at Tinker, serving in Strategic Communications Wing ONE in support of their fleet of E-6B aircraft. He led a team of nearly 200 military and civilian personnel responsible for the maintenance and upkeep of the fleet.

When Navy officials reached out to Rosino to help organize an oath of enlistment ceremony at the Capitol for 18 Oklahoma recruits, he was excited to help with the arrangements.

“Oklahoma City is one of 15 locations chosen tor the 2023 Navy Week program, scheduled for June 26 through July 2. We were last a host city in 2019,” Rosino said. “It’s the Navy’s flagship outreach effort, and this oath of enlistment ceremony is one of many events the Navy planned here in the metro as part of Navy week. It was an honor to welcome everyone to the Capitol for the oath of enlistment ceremony, and I’m proud of these individuals who’ve stepped up to serve their country. This is an incredible opportunity, and they have a great future ahead of them.”

Among the 18 recruits who took the oath during Wednesday’s ceremony were five men and women from Senate District 45, which Rosino represents in the Legislature. Special guests and dignitaries present included sailors from the USS Oklahoma, a nuclear submarine named for the battleship that bore the state’s name and was lost in the attack on Pearl Harbor. Vice Admiral Jeffery Trussler, the Navy’s senior executive for Oklahoma City Navy Week, administered the oath at Wednesday’s ceremony. Stationed at the Pentagon, Trussler is from Miami, Oklahoma.

Despite being a land-locked state, Rosino noted the importance of the Navy to Oklahoma in terms of both national defense and the state’s economy.

“Many people may not know about the Navy air wing at Tinker that’s been there since 1992.  There’s over 1,000 active duty sailors stationed there,” Rosino said. “They’re on the Air Depot side of the base, and we teasingly tell the people at Tinker that’s actually Naval Air Station Tinker.”

For more information about Oklahoma City’s Navy Week events, go to https://outreach.navy.mil/Navy-Weeks/Oklahoma-City-2023/. 

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For more information, contact:  Sen. Paul Rosino at 405-521-5618 or email Paul.Rosino@oksenate.gov.

CUTLINE:  Vice Admiral Jeffery Trussler administers the oath of enlistment to 18 Oklahoma recruits during a ceremony at the state Capitol on Wednesday. The event was part of Oklahoma City’s Navy Week events.

CUTLINE:  Sen. Paul Rosino, R-Oklahoma, visits with five recruits from his Senate district following Wednesday’s oath of enlistment ceremony which was one of many events held as part of 2023’s Navy Week in Oklahoma City.