SAN DIEGO - Petty Officer 1st Class Jonathan Meyers, a native of Oroville, California, was inspired to join the Navy after 9/11.
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| Photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Jackson Brown |
"After the attack on 9/11, it really hit home and I felt that at that moment I wanted to serve my country and join the Navy,” Meyers said.
Now, 17 years later, Meyers 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.
“The squadron is very unique compared to the rest of the military,” Meyers said. “It is a very close unit of individuals with one mindset. I feel it's more a family than other units because of how small it is.”
Meyers, a 1993 graduate of Oroville High School, is an aircrew survival equipmentman 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 the leading petty officer for the Aviation Life Support Systems (ALSS) work center where I manage seven sailors in all aspects from administration to maintenance to personal situations,” said Meyers.
Meyers credits success in the Navy to many of the lessons learned in Oroville.
“One of the things I learned from my hometown that has assisted me with my career in the Navy can be summed up with one word: community,” said Meyers. “It takes all of us to get the job done.”
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 Meyers 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, Meyers is most proud of getting a chance to reenlist after his first deployment on the USS Arizona.
“It meant I was able to tie my life to the people that honorably served before me and to get a chance to share that with my father,” said Meyers.
As a member of one of the U.S. Navy's most relied upon assets, Meyers and other sailors know they are part of a legacy that will last beyond their lifetimes contributing to the Navy the nation needs.
“The Navy allows me a chance to serve a brotherhood that has a specific set of values and affords me the opportunity to bring our experiences to other countries and share our patriotism to those that have never been a part of something so amazing,” said Meyers.
Now, 17 years later, Meyers 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.
“The squadron is very unique compared to the rest of the military,” Meyers said. “It is a very close unit of individuals with one mindset. I feel it's more a family than other units because of how small it is.”
Meyers, a 1993 graduate of Oroville High School, is an aircrew survival equipmentman 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 the leading petty officer for the Aviation Life Support Systems (ALSS) work center where I manage seven sailors in all aspects from administration to maintenance to personal situations,” said Meyers.
Meyers credits success in the Navy to many of the lessons learned in Oroville.
“One of the things I learned from my hometown that has assisted me with my career in the Navy can be summed up with one word: community,” said Meyers. “It takes all of us to get the job done.”
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 Meyers 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, Meyers is most proud of getting a chance to reenlist after his first deployment on the USS Arizona.
“It meant I was able to tie my life to the people that honorably served before me and to get a chance to share that with my father,” said Meyers.
As a member of one of the U.S. Navy's most relied upon assets, Meyers and other sailors know they are part of a legacy that will last beyond their lifetimes contributing to the Navy the nation needs.
“The Navy allows me a chance to serve a brotherhood that has a specific set of values and affords me the opportunity to bring our experiences to other countries and share our patriotism to those that have never been a part of something so amazing,” said Meyers.