SAN DIEGO – Lt. Benjamin Price, a native of Gilbert, Arizona, joined the U.S. Navy because he was inspired by a Military Channel documentary on the service academies.
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| Photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Jackson Brown |
Now, six years later, Price serves with the Chargers of Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron (HSC) 14, working with one of the Navy’s true workhorse aircraft at Naval Air Station North Island, San Diego.
“Life here with the Chargers is pretty good, it is full speed 80 percent of the time. I have been with the squadron for little over a year,” said Price. “I learned a lot on how aviation works and we have a lot of really good people here.”
Price, a 2007 graduate of Gilbert High School, is a naval aviator with HSC 14, a versatile squadron that’s capable of completing a number of important missions for the Navy with the MH-60S “Seahawk” helicopter.
“I am responsible for safely conducting flight operations as a pilot," said Price. "I am an aircrew division officer for the aircrewmen. I am responsible for anything that they need, training, career needs, personal needs. I ensure they are taken care of and have the resources available that they need.”
Price credits success in the Navy to many of the lessons learned in Gilbert.
“I was taught the importance of time management," said Price. "Knowing how to manage my time efficiently and effectively is important in the Navy.”
“Life here with the Chargers is pretty good, it is full speed 80 percent of the time. I have been with the squadron for little over a year,” said Price. “I learned a lot on how aviation works and we have a lot of really good people here.”
Price, a 2007 graduate of Gilbert High School, is a naval aviator with HSC 14, a versatile squadron that’s capable of completing a number of important missions for the Navy with the MH-60S “Seahawk” helicopter.
“I am responsible for safely conducting flight operations as a pilot," said Price. "I am an aircrew division officer for the aircrewmen. I am responsible for anything that they need, training, career needs, personal needs. I ensure they are taken care of and have the resources available that they need.”
Price credits success in the Navy to many of the lessons learned in Gilbert.
“I was taught the importance of time management," said Price. "Knowing how to manage my time efficiently and effectively is important in the Navy.”
HSC 14 provides all-weather, combat-ready aircraft and crew to conduct anti-surface warfare, personnel recovery, special warfare support, search and rescue, and logistics for aircraft carrier air wings and navy shore installations. HSC 14 flies the MH-60S “Seahawk” helicopter, a state-of-the-art design that provides the Navy with true versatility, able to complete a number of mission requirements, according to Navy officials.
The MH-60S with its glass cockpit incorporates active matrix LCD displays, used to facilitate pilot and co-pilot vertical and horizontal situation presentations. Another major design of the MH-60S is a "common cockpit," which is shared with the MH-60R. This allows pilots to shift from one aircraft to another with minimal re-training.
“The MH-60S is a multi-mission helicopter and one of the three helicopter airframes the U.S. Navy uses to perform a variety of missions,” said Price. “Our MH-60S can be configured to do different types of missions such as search and rescue, supply and trasnport, armed escort, close air support and special operations support.”
Serving in the Navy means Price is part of a world 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.
A key element of the Navy the nation needs is tied to the fact that America is a maritime nation, 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.
“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, Price is most proud of his most recent seven-month deployment on USS John C. Stennis.
“We went and did what we trained to do, we were prepared to perform any of our missions if we were called upon and it was a very successful deployment,” said Price.
As a member of one of the U.S. Navy’s most relied upon assets, Price and other sailors know they are part of a legacy that will last beyond their lifetimes contributing to the Navy the nation needs.
“Serving in the Navy has given me a lot of opportunites and has been fun and rewarding as well as very difficult, but it has developed me a naval leader,” said Price.