Anthony Longoria will never forget the look on his father’s face.

Longoria was on leave from the Navy and visiting his father at his home in Dallas last month when his cell phone rang.

Waiting word on his latest application into Officer Candidate School, Longoria recognized the first six digits of the phone number as being from Whidbey Island Naval Air Station and his heart started to race. He answered the phone, recognized his commanding officer’s voice and listened to him state the news he had waited years to hear.

Longoria excitedly put the device on speaker phone as his commanding officer, command master chief, executive officer and division officer all offered congratulations through a conference call back at NAS Whidbey in Oak Harbor.

Meanwhile, Mark Longoria sat on his couch and stared at his son.

“My dad’s eyes were wide open,” Anthony said. “You could see how proud he was.”

Anthony Longoria’s acceptance into Officer Candidate School wasn’t something that was supposed to be in the cards for someone who grew up a troubled teen, barely graduated from high school and didn’t take military service seriously at first.

Even when he enlisted in the Navy Sept. 11, 2006, his decision was partly based on the “shiny shoes” and sleek uniform worn by his recruiter, not so much about the American flag and protecting freedoms.

“He wanted to be that guy,” Mark Longoria remembered.

But something happened to Longoria in the years after he stumbled early in military life.

He grew up.

Running into off-duty trouble twice less than two years after enlistment, he faced non-judicial punishment each time and was concerned his Navy career might be short-lived.

He believes what saved him was his tireless work ethic, superior test scores, ability to be a self-starter and impressions he’d made on his superiors who saw something special in him and ultimately recommended not to give up on the teenager quite yet.

“Captain looked at me and said, ‘Airman Longoria, this is your last chance. Most people don’t get a third chance in the Navy.’”

Longoria charted a course to shed his “trouble-maker” label and kept his nose in the books to move up the ranks.

While on deployment to South America, he remembers studying after working the night shift and falling asleep in front of his laptop.

Before he turned 20, he made third class. By 21, he was second class.

Now 26, Longoria is an aviation support equipment technician first class with the Fleet Readiness Center Northwest at NAS Whidbey.

Since arriving in Oak Harbor four years ago, his own expectations of himself have continued to soar.

He enrolled at Brandman University to pursue a bachelor’s degree and graduated with honors with a 3.67 grade-point average in June.

Twice, he applied to Officer Candidate School through the highly-competitive Seaman to Admiral program for enlisted sailors but got alternate status each time.

“I was the No. 1 loser two years in a row,” he joked.

After completing his bachelor’s degree in computing technology, Longoria applied again, entered into a master’s program and anxiously waited for an answer.

He got the answer he wanted last month in Texas.

“I couldn’t be more proud of him,” Mark Longoria said. “He’s come a long way.”

Longoria leaves today for Officer Candidate School, which will encompass 12 weeks of intense training in Newport, R.I., starting Sunday morning.

He was originally slated to go in March but got word of another opportunity.

“They said, ‘There’s one slot available if you can leave in two weeks.’”

Having spent his entire military service among the maintainers, he’s embarking on a new pursuit as a commissioned Naval Flight Officer.

He’s proud of his background and the perspective it will bring.

“I know what it’s like. I’ve been there,” he said. “There are a lot of aviators that I’m not saying they don’t appreciate it but they don’t really appreciate it as much if they’ve never been down there at one time doing the dirty work. Someone is going home greasy and oily and with fuel under their nails every night so that they can fly.”

As he watches jets soar in the skies above Oak Harbor, Longoria is lifted. To him, it’s the sound of a skyward career.

“It’s like music to my ears,” he said.