SAN DIEGO – Petty Officer 3rd Class Alyssa Anderson, a native of Port St. Lucie, Florida, wasn't sure what she wanted to do before college.
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| Photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Jackson Brown |
Now, four years later, Anderson serves with the Scorpions of Helicopter Maritime Squadron (HSM) 49, working with one of the Navy’s most advanced helicopters at Naval Air Station North Island, San Diego.
“Life with the squadron is exciting, there is always something new every day,” said Anderson.
Anderson, a 2015 graduate of Daniel Boone High School, is an aviation electronics technician with a versatile squadron that’s capable of completing a number of important missions for the Navy with the MH-60R “Seahawk” helicopter.
“I am responsible for the electronics and navigation systems in the aircraft,” said Anderson.
Anderson credits success in the Navy to many of the lessons learned in Port St. Lucie.
“Being respectful is important, everyone has their own job and you have to be respectful towards them," said Anderson. "You have to always keep learning, know your job and continue to grow.”
“Life with the squadron is exciting, there is always something new every day,” said Anderson.
Anderson, a 2015 graduate of Daniel Boone High School, is an aviation electronics technician with a versatile squadron that’s capable of completing a number of important missions for the Navy with the MH-60R “Seahawk” helicopter.
“I am responsible for the electronics and navigation systems in the aircraft,” said Anderson.
Anderson credits success in the Navy to many of the lessons learned in Port St. Lucie.
“Being respectful is important, everyone has their own job and you have to be respectful towards them," said Anderson. "You have to always keep learning, know your job and continue to grow.”
HSM 49's primary mission is to conduct sea control operations in open-ocean and coastal environments as an expeditionary unit. This includes hunting for submarines, searching for surface targets over the horizon and conducting search and rescue operations.
According to Navy officials, the MH-60R is the Navy's new primary maritime dominance helicopter. Greatly enhanced over its predecessors, the MH-60R helicopter features a glass cockpit and significant mission system improvements, which give it unmatched capability as an airborne multi-mission naval platform.
As the U.S. Navy's next generation submarine hunter and anti-surface warfare helicopter, the MH-60R "Romeo" is the cornerstone of the Navy's Helicopter Concept of Operations. Anti-submarine warfare and surface warfare are the MH-60R's primary missions. Secondary missions include search and rescue, medical evacuation, vertical replenishment, naval surface fire support, communications relay, command, control, communications, command and control warfare and non-combat operations.
Serving in the Navy means Anderson is part of a community that is taking on new importance in America’s focus on rebuilding military readiness, strengthening alliances and reforming business practices in support of the National Defense Strategy.
America is a maritime nation, and 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.
“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, Anderson is most proud of getting all of her qualifications in a timely manner and being someone that her colleagues can come to for questions.
“I am going up for second class soon, and this is setting me up for being in a leadership role, to become a leading petty officer of a detachment,” said Anderson.
As a member of one of the U.S. Navy’s most relied upon assets, Anderson and other sailors know they are part of a legacy that will last beyond their lifetimes contributing to the Navy the nation needs.
“I’m the first person in my family to join the military, and I am very proud to serve,” said Anderson.