How a Napa native helped behind the scenes of new Blue Angels documentary

The first time Ensign Paul Archer ever touched an aircraft wasn’t in his hometown of Napa, but near the sandy beaches of Pensacola, Florida.

It was a dazzling blue and gold F/A-18 Super Hornet stationed at the Naval Air Station. Archer was there for a weeklong interview with the hopes of being hired to work for the Blue Angels — the U.S. Navy’s best of the best.

Archer was selected as part of the Blue Angels public affairs team in 2021, which put him in charge of photographing air shows across the country and coordinating press coverage for them. He quickly worked his way up the ranks to become chief petty officer for the public affairs department.

“Right when I felt like we’re about to get our groove, the public affairs officer I worked for at the time, she walks in and she goes, ‘Guys, the movie got approved,’” Archer said. “And we’re like, ‘What movie?’”

That movie, “The Blue Angels,” is a new documentary that gives audiences an unparalleled behind-the-scenes look into the recruiting and training process of the Navy’s flight demonstration squadron most famous for their annual fighter pilot air shows that tour the country.

The film follows the Blue Angels’ 2021 season and documents the highly selective hiring process, as well as the physically and emotionally demanding training that ensues.

During filming, Archer was responsible for coordinating the production crew and aviators at every air show location and scouting for new locations to film.

“The camera angles, the shooting, the mounts — a lot of the stuff in the movie was never done before,” Archer said. “When the Blue Angels fly, we shut down the air space around us and this is the first time ever they had an outside entity flying with the team.”

He was also in charge of ensuring safety precautions and daily escorts for the crew due to the dangerous nature of working on a flight line.

“Every shot you see in the movie, either someone near myself or someone from our team was right next to that camera person,” he said.

A graduate of Vintage High School, Archer enlisted in the Navy in 2013 at 22 years old after briefly attending Napa Valley College and Sonoma State University. He went on to become a mass communications specialist, which put him in charge of photographing, filming and marketing for the Navy.

With time spent in San Diego aboard the USS Ronald Reagan, and a deployment in South America sailing through the Strait of Magellan, Archer made his way to the Pentagon to run the Navy’s social media accounts.

“That’s a once in a lifetime experience in itself,” Archer said about working at the Pentagon. “I got to see how the sausage was made and learn a lot from professionals who are pretty high ranking and connected within our community.”

He heard about an opening with the Blue Angels while working at the Pentagon.

“I knew what the Blue Angels were growing up in the Bay Area,” he said. “They were around and I remember seeing them on the news and things like that, but I don’t think I’d ever seen the Blue Angels until I was in Pensacola training.”

In 2021, Archer graduated from Arizona State University with a bachelor’s degree in mass communications and journalism. He was selected for Navy Officer Candidate School in November 2022, which ended his time with the Blue Angels.

“It’s a crazy once in a lifetime experience and when you know you’re leaving that it’s a bummer,” Archer said, “but all you can do is try and bring that culture there and just bring it with you to wherever you’re going next.”

Archer graduated and became a Naval officer in April. He said the support he’s received from his hometown has been great. Although Archer no longer lives in Napa, he still has local ties — as his parents, his twin brother, Kyle, and many friends still live in town.

“I think that part of the success was growing up, playing sports, and in a town that kind of knew what the Blue Angels were, and appreciated military service,” Archer said. “You just kind of learn how to be smart, be a good, hard worker, a good person and those life skills you learn growing up in a nice environment like that put you on the right path to succeed in the military and kind of led to the Blue Angel experience.”

The documentary is now playing in IMAX theaters and will be streaming on Amazon Prime Video on May 23.