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Cmdr. Chris Meek will take on the role of XO for the Navy’s Blue Angels starting this November.
By the time Cmdr. Chris Meek got the call, he already knew the stakes. The Navy’s Blue Angels — the elite flight demonstration squadron that turns heads and rattles windows with every pass — don’t just call anyone. But on May 9, the squadron’s commanding officer told Meek what every Navy aviator dreams of hearing: he’d been chosen as the next executive officer for the 2026–2027 show seasons.
For the kid from Watauga and North Richland Hills, who once walked the halls of Nolan Catholic High School with no clear vision of a military career, it was more than a promotion. It was a full-circle moment.
“I had no desire to enter the armed forces,” Meek says, laughing as he remembers his teenage self. “I’d seen the commercials, but it wasn’t on my radar. Then my grandfather, he was in the Navy, said, ‘You should consider it.’” That simple suggestion led to a summer seminar at the U.S. Naval Academy, and the seed was planted. “I left there saying, yes, this is where I want to go. I want all my eggs in this basket.”
He meant it. Meek followed up with Naval Academy Prep School in Rhode Island, sharpened his focus, and graduated from the Academy in 2007 with a degree in systems engineering. He became a Naval Flight Officer (NFO) — a position he refers to as a “back seater.” While pilots take control of the stick, NFOs are the ones working on the radar, navigating, and managing the mission. “We’re the tactical coordinators,” Meek explains. “A lot is going on behind the scenes.”
For the past decade, Meek has lived that behind-the-scenes life with the Joint Staff J7 in Virginia Beach, supporting Combatant Command-level training exercises. He’s spent most of his career operating out of the Pentagon and Suffolk, Virginia, carving out a stable life for his wife and their four kids—now ages 14, 11, 9, and 7. “This is my fourth tour here,” he says. “And we were trying to stay put as long as the Navy would allow it.”
Then came the call that changed everything. The Blue Angels’ executive officer position — XO, in Navy speak — is one of the most visible roles in naval aviation. It’s also one of the busiest. From mid-March through November, Meek will be on the road nearly 300 days a year, helping lead a team of 160 sailors and Marines through 32 adrenaline-fueled performances across the country.
“The Boss” — as the commanding officer and lead pilot is known — focuses on flying. Meek, as XO, will handle everything else: coordinating logistics, liaising with public affairs, and making sure maintenance and supplies are in sync. “It’s a big responsibility, but I’m ready,” he says. “I’m there to take care of the team, so the Boss can do his job safely.
Ask him how he feels about this new role, and Meek doesn't point to personal glory. “My first thoughts were the people who got me here,” he says. “So many mentors and believers, even when I doubted myself. This is a collective effort.”
The Blue Angels, established in 1946, exist to do more than just fly. Their mission is to showcase the skill, precision, and professionalism of the Navy and Marine Corps — and to inspire the next generation of service members. Over 500 million people have watched them perform, but for Meek, it’s the legacy behind the smoke trails that matters.
“I am incredibly grateful for the opportunity to serve with this team of high-powered professionals,” he says. “To advance the mission of the Blue Angels, to integrate with this outstanding group of Sailors, Marines, and civilians, and to continue the legacy of those who have gone before us — that’s the honor.”
Come November, after the squad’s homecoming show at Naval Air Station Pensacola, Meek will officially step into his new role. And while his boots may now be planted on runways across the country, his heart still beats with the rhythm of Fort Worth. “That’s where it all started,” he says. “Those schools, those neighborhoods, that community — they helped shape me.”
And although it’s been a few years since he’s been back home to Cowtown, Meek still has a hankering for a local favorite that always has a big name or two stop by for a plate of food.
“I think a staple with our family is Joe T. Garcia's,” he says. “I'm half Hispanic. My mom is a hundred percent, and so we definitely have a craving for Mexican all the time. So anytime I go home, I say, ‘Hey, let's go there.’"
