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Exclusive News From Boeing
Washington resident Son Tran found a new home in the United States when his family was forced to flee Vietnam when he was 8 years old . He proudly supports the U . S . military through his work as an E-7 software engineer . ( Boeing photo )
Supporting the global defense mission in the Pacific Northwest
In 1982 , seven-year-old Son Tran fled his home country of Vietnam along with his mother , older sister and two older brothers to escape an oppressive regime . His family was captured at the Vietnam-Cambodia border by the Khmer Rouge and forced to live in a refugee camp for six months . It wasn ’ t until 1983 , after brief stops in Thailand and the Philippines , that Tran – now eight years old – arrived in Tacoma with his family and reunited with his father , who had previously fled to the United States .
Growing up in the Pacific Northwest and attending the University of Washington , Tran said Boeing ’ s strong defense presence in the region felt more like a personal calling than a career choice .
Now a software engineer for Boeing Defense , Space & Security ’ s E-7 program , Tran ’ s life-changing journey as a child still motivates him to this day .
“ This is something I always aspired to do ,” he said . “ When I work for Boeing , I feel like I am doing my part to help defend our country . And so , it ’ s a great honor for me .”
Boeing has built aircraft in the Pacific Northwest for more than a century . William Boeing ’ s “ Little Red Barn ” on the Duwamish River marks the birthplace of the Pacific Northwest as a global hub of aerospace supply and manufacturing . In addition to building commercial aircraft for customers around the globe , Boeing and suppliers in the Puget Sound region support the United States and allies with military platforms for national defense .
These include the KC-46 tanker , the P-8 “ Sub Hunter ” and the E-7 Airborne Early Warning & Control ( AEW & C ) aircraft .
E-7 : Quarterback of the Skies
Tran began working for Boeing as a software engineer on the E-7 AEW & C program in 2004 .
Much like a quarterback on the gridiron , the E-7 scans the skies to identify threats and “ calls the plays ” to command and control air , surface and ground forces . These capabilities increase survivability and improve operational decision making to give U . S . and allied joint forces a tactical edge in contested environments .
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