Greensburg Salem alum soaring toward 'Wings of Gold' in U.S. Navy

A Greensburg Salem High School graduate is learning skills needed to fly missions around the world with the U.S. Navy.

Garison Andolina joined the military two years ago after earning a bachelor’s degree in planetary science and astronomy from Penn State University in 2022, according to information provided by the Navy. He said he joined the military to pursue a career in aviation while following in the footsteps of his father who served in the Air Force.

Andolina was a volunteer firefighter with the Forbes Road department in Salem and appeared in 2019 marketing materials related to recruiting firefighters in Westmoreland County.

“Being a part of a volunteer fire department in my hometown taught me to never take anything for granted,” he said. “This, along with the perseverance it took to train, has helped me push through the mental and physical battles of flight school.”

Now, he’s working with a training squadron based in Texas where he will complete phases of flight training before graduation. Naval aviators who complete that program earn “Wings of Gold.” After graduation, pilots can continue training on specific aircraft, such as fighter jets or a helicopter.

Andolina said he’s proud to be part of the Navy’s aviation tradition and enjoys the challenging nature of the work. He boasted that he scored a 100% on academic testing in an introductory flight evaluation.

“Bringing that momentum into primary flight training with me, I was one of the few to be selected for the jet training pipeline,” he said.