NORFOLK, Va. – Command Master Chief Jeff Delzer, a native of Elyria, Ohio, serves the U.S. Navy assigned to Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron (HSC) 5.
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| Photo by Mass Communication Specialist Seaman Mark Pena, Navy Public Affairs Support Element East |
Delzer graduated from Elyria High School in 1999. Additionally, Delzer is planning on earning a bachelor’s degree in business administration from Regent University next fall, and will pursue a master’s degree in strategic leadership from the University of Charleston after that.
The skills and values needed to succeed in the Navy are similar to those found in Elyria.
“Hard work and realizing you need to take care of people are the best lessons I learned growing up,” Delzer said. "I saw lots of examples of that in Elyria because it is a very mechanical and industrial community where people take care of their families and each other.”
Delzer joined the Navy 23 years ago. Today, Delzer serves as a command master chief, the highest-ranking enlisted sailor at a Navy command.
“I joined the Navy because of my family’s history of service,” Delzer said. “My father was a chief yeoman in the Coast Guard and my grandfather served during WWII, so I felt an obligation, and I wanted to be a part of something bigger than myself. After 9/11 happened, I also knew for certain I wanted to join and I enlisted the following May. I had family who perished in the 9/11 attacks in New York, and that gave me an even stronger sense of having to protect our nation and the ones I love."
Members of HSC-5 fly and maintain the MH-60S Knighthawk helicopter within Carrier Air Wing SEVEN (CVW-7). The MH-60S's primary missions are Search and Rescue, Naval Special Warfare Support and Anti-Surface Warfare. Additional missions include logistic support, vertical replenishment, medical evacuation, non-combatant evacuation operations and maritime interdiction operations. In short, HSC-5 "Rescues, Protects and Delivers!"
The U.S. Navy is celebrating its 250th birthday this year.
According to Navy officials, “America is a maritime nation and for 250 years, America’s Warfighting Navy has sailed the globe in defense of freedom.”
With 90% of global commerce traveling by sea and access to the internet relying on the security of undersea fiber optic cables, Navy officials continue to emphasize that the prosperity of the United States is directly linked to recruiting and retaining talented people from across the rich fabric of America.
Delzer has many opportunities to achieve accomplishments during military service.
“My proudest accomplishment is seeing the people who have come up under me succeed,” Delzer said. "There is nothing more rewarding than seeing people you have taken care of succeed. When you hear the emotion in their voice when they call to tell you about getting promoted, you know you did right by them."
Delzer serves a Navy that operates far forward, around the world and around the clock, promoting the nation's prosperity and security.
“Serving in the Navy means finding something positive every day and making a positive impact on others,” Delzer said. "There is nothing that beats being able to point someone in the right direction or being able to make a call that might make their life a little bit easier.”
Delzer is grateful to others for helping make a Navy career possible.
“I would like to thank my parents, Frank and Barb Delzer, for setting the right kind of example of hard work when I was growing up,” Delzer added. "I also want to thank Ed Padley, who was the associate pastor at my church and helped develop my spirituality."