SAN DIEGO – Petty Officer 2nd Class Sean Brady, a native of Huron, Ohio, joined the Navy to carry on a family tradition.
 |
| Photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Jackson Brown |
Now, four years later, Brady serves with the Raptors of Helicopter Maritime Squadron (HSM) 71, working with one of the Navy’s most advanced helicopters at Naval Air Station North Island, San Diego.
Brady, a 2010 graduate of Huron High School, is a naval aircrewman with HSM 71, a versatile squadron that’s capable of completing a number of important missions for the Navy with the MH-60R “Seahawk” helicopter.
“I'm a naval aircrewman and a search and rescue swimmer. I run radar, hunt submarines and when needed, act as door gunner," said Brady. "In addition to our offensive and defensive abilities, we provide intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance for the carrier strike group.”
Brady, a 2010 graduate of Huron High School, is a naval aircrewman with HSM 71, a versatile squadron that’s capable of completing a number of important missions for the Navy with the MH-60R “Seahawk” helicopter.
“I'm a naval aircrewman and a search and rescue swimmer. I run radar, hunt submarines and when needed, act as door gunner," said Brady. "In addition to our offensive and defensive abilities, we provide intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance for the carrier strike group.”
Brady credits success in the Navy to many of the lessons learned in Huron.
“Being from Huron helped me develop mental toughness and work ethic that makes me succeed in the Navy,” said Brady.
HSM 71'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 Brady 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.
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, Brady is most proud of graduating from rescue swimmer school and SERE (survival, evasion, resistance, escape).
“These are difficult schools and graduating from them gave me a sense of pride and accomplishment,” said Brady.
As a member of one of the U.S. Navy’s most relied upon assets, Brady 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 gives me a sense of pride and accomplishment," said Brady. "What I like about serving the most is having family away from family while being deployed and stationed across the United States.”