This is the stuff dreams are made of.

As a young girl, AZ2(AW) Desiree Phillips of AIMD Whidbey Island’s Expeditionary Logistics Unit used to spend summers with her mother on the beaches of Florida, watching the US Navy Blue Angels perform their gravity-defying, high-octane flight maneuvers.

At age 7, Phillips was impressed, looking at the men and women wearing pristine blue uniforms with their bright, shiny flying machines rolling down the runway and taking off at breakneck speed.

Now, a decade and a half later, she will join this elite team of Naval aviation professionals. A native of Florida, joined the Navy in the summer of 2002.  After completing recruit training, she reported to her first command, the Bear Aces of VAW-124 based in Norfolk, Va.

Assigned to Maintenance Control, she worked aggressively throughout a long deployment in the Mediterranean Sea and the Arabian Gulf, earned designation as an Aviation Administrationman, and “A” school in Meridian, Miss.

Phillips reported to AIMD Whidbey Island ELU as an AZ3 in September 2004 and was quickly advanced to AZ2.  While looking through the JASS Online detailing system last January, she came across a billet opening for the Blue Angels and saw an opportunity for her to apply for this coveted position.

After consulting with her Division Chief, Phillips began work on her package. It was a painstaking process that had to be done right the first time.

Phillips was contacted in mid-April flew to Pensacola for her interview. The week-long interview process was an eye-opener in which she was required to introduce herself to the Chain of Command and then walk through each division and discuss her portfolio with the entire Blue Angels maintenance team.

As one of the 27 selectees nationwide, the stringent selection process focused on sustained superior performance of duties, outstanding evaluations, impeccable military bearing and appearance, as well as no history of disciplinary actions and alcohol-related incidents.

Obviously, the Blues want only the cream of the crop.