Photo By Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Tim Miller
NORFOLK, Va. – A 2004 Bradenton Academy graduate and Bradenton, Florida, native is serving with a U.S. Navy team that flies one of the Navy’s most advanced aircraft, one with an important mission: keeping watch over the skies and oceans of the world.
Lt. Cmdr. David Small is an assistant officer in charge serving with E-2D Fleet Introduction Team, which operates out of Norfolk, Virginia. As a Navy assistant officer in charge, Small is responsible for assisting the officer in charge in the transition of squadrons from the E-2C to the E-2D Hawkeye, as well as developing concepts of operations for E-2D aerial refueling.
Small credits success in the Navy to many of the lessons learned growing up in Bradenton.
“When I was younger I was a terrible procrastinator and from high school to college I learned the consequences,” said Small. “I had to learn time management and organization. Since joining they have become the two biggest skillsets used in the Navy.”
Members of the team plan, track and execute the transition of the Hawkeye Community to the E-2D to include training, personnel, supplies, and facilities.
The Hawkeye takes off from and lands aboard Navy aircraft carriers at sea. Using powerful radar and an array of advanced sensors, the twin-turboprop aircraft and its crew of five can remain in the air for hours, scanning the skies, detecting potential airborne and surface threats and relaying real-time information to other Navy aircraft and ships operating in the area.
Navy aircraft provide the Navy with a variety of other capabilities as well, including the ability to conduct search and rescue operations, communications relay, close air support coordination and drug interdiction. The Hawkeye can fly at nearly 350 mph at altitudes up to 30,000 feet.
A key element of the Navy the nation needs is tied to the fact that America is a maritime nation, according to Navy officials, and that the nation’s prosperity is tied to the ability to operate freely on the world’s oceans. More than 70 percent of the Earth’s surface is covered by water; 80 percent of the world’s population lives close to a coast; and 90 percent of all global trade by volume travels by sea.
Small is playing an important part in America’s focus on rebuilding military readiness, strengthening alliances and reforming business practices in support of National Defense Strategy.
“Our priorities center on people, capabilities and processes, and will be achieved by our focus on speed, value, results and partnerships,” said Secretary of the Navy Richard V. Spencer. “Readiness, lethality and modernization are the requirements driving these priorities.”
Though there are many ways for sailors to earn distinction in their command, community and career, Small is most proud of being a part of a unit that assisted with humanitarian and disaster relief in the Philippines after the 2013 Super Typhoon Haiyan.
“We won the humanitarian service medal for it,” said Small. “That was the first time I did something so incredibly real that it hits you. It was completely knocked out and destroyed. I was the mission commander who was responsible for coordinating the aircraft of where to go and what to deliver.”
Serving in the Navy is a continuing tradition of military service for Small, who has military ties with family members who have previously served. Small is honored to carry on the family tradition.
“My grandfather served in WWII in the Army and my cousin served in the Marine Corps,” said Small. “My cousin and I were a lot alike in high school. The Naval Academy changed him and I remember thinking the Navy wouldn’t be a bad way to go.”
According to Navy officials, with just a handful of sailors assigned to the team, jobs are highly specialized and demand each sailor’s utmost efforts to keep each part of the Hawkeye and Greyhound communities running smoothly. This includes training new aviators, maintaining airframes and engines, or handling and flying the aircraft.
As a member of one of the U.S. Navy’s most relied-upon assets, Small and other sailors know they are part of a legacy that will last beyond their lifetimes providing the Navy the nation needs.
“When I joined, I was doing it not only to preserve our country and help others, but for personal development as well,” added Small. “Now that I have my own family, it has become much more about them. I do everything for my wife and son.”
Small credits success in the Navy to many of the lessons learned growing up in Bradenton.
“When I was younger I was a terrible procrastinator and from high school to college I learned the consequences,” said Small. “I had to learn time management and organization. Since joining they have become the two biggest skillsets used in the Navy.”
Members of the team plan, track and execute the transition of the Hawkeye Community to the E-2D to include training, personnel, supplies, and facilities.
The Hawkeye takes off from and lands aboard Navy aircraft carriers at sea. Using powerful radar and an array of advanced sensors, the twin-turboprop aircraft and its crew of five can remain in the air for hours, scanning the skies, detecting potential airborne and surface threats and relaying real-time information to other Navy aircraft and ships operating in the area.
Navy aircraft provide the Navy with a variety of other capabilities as well, including the ability to conduct search and rescue operations, communications relay, close air support coordination and drug interdiction. The Hawkeye can fly at nearly 350 mph at altitudes up to 30,000 feet.
A key element of the Navy the nation needs is tied to the fact that America is a maritime nation, according to Navy officials, and that the nation’s prosperity is tied to the ability to operate freely on the world’s oceans. More than 70 percent of the Earth’s surface is covered by water; 80 percent of the world’s population lives close to a coast; and 90 percent of all global trade by volume travels by sea.
Small is playing an important part in America’s focus on rebuilding military readiness, strengthening alliances and reforming business practices in support of National Defense Strategy.
“Our priorities center on people, capabilities and processes, and will be achieved by our focus on speed, value, results and partnerships,” said Secretary of the Navy Richard V. Spencer. “Readiness, lethality and modernization are the requirements driving these priorities.”
Though there are many ways for sailors to earn distinction in their command, community and career, Small is most proud of being a part of a unit that assisted with humanitarian and disaster relief in the Philippines after the 2013 Super Typhoon Haiyan.
“We won the humanitarian service medal for it,” said Small. “That was the first time I did something so incredibly real that it hits you. It was completely knocked out and destroyed. I was the mission commander who was responsible for coordinating the aircraft of where to go and what to deliver.”
Serving in the Navy is a continuing tradition of military service for Small, who has military ties with family members who have previously served. Small is honored to carry on the family tradition.
“My grandfather served in WWII in the Army and my cousin served in the Marine Corps,” said Small. “My cousin and I were a lot alike in high school. The Naval Academy changed him and I remember thinking the Navy wouldn’t be a bad way to go.”
According to Navy officials, with just a handful of sailors assigned to the team, jobs are highly specialized and demand each sailor’s utmost efforts to keep each part of the Hawkeye and Greyhound communities running smoothly. This includes training new aviators, maintaining airframes and engines, or handling and flying the aircraft.
As a member of one of the U.S. Navy’s most relied-upon assets, Small and other sailors know they are part of a legacy that will last beyond their lifetimes providing the Navy the nation needs.
“When I joined, I was doing it not only to preserve our country and help others, but for personal development as well,” added Small. “Now that I have my own family, it has become much more about them. I do everything for my wife and son.”