ANDERSEN AIR FORCE BASE, Guam – A 2002 Greenville High School graduate and Greenville, Maine, native is serving in the U.S. Navy with Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron (HSC) 25 on the island of Guam.
Lt. Cmdr. Levi LaRoche is a pilot serving with HSC 25, known as the “Island Knights,” a versatile squadron that’s capable of completing a number of important missions for the Navy with the MH-60S “Seahawk” helicopter.
"As a pilot, I am a leader," said LaRoche. "Whether I am in an office, airplane, helicopter, bridge of a ship, or flight deck, the Navy's expectation of me remains the same—lead the people around me to complete the task at hand."
LaRoche credits success in the Navy to many of the lessons learned in Greenville.
“Growing up in northern Maine taught me to solve problems by using whatever limited assets I had available, not always having the right tool for the job," said LaRoche. "That skill is consistently valuable and surprising to my team members.”
HSC 25 is the first and only forward-deployed vertical replenishment (VERTREP) squadron in the Navy and is tasked with supporting Seventh Fleet units in the Western Pacific, Indian Ocean, North Arabian Sea, and Persian Gulf. To provide this support, HSC-25 embarks two-aircraft detachments aboard Military Sealift Command vessels which provide transportation of equipment, fuel, supplies and ammunition to sustain U.S. forces worldwide.
They are the only Navy squadron based at Andersen Air Force Base, Guam.
In addition to VERTREP, HSC-25 provides 24-hour Search-and-Rescue/Medical Evacuation (MEDEVAC) services for Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands. Averaging more than 30 rescues and 70 MEDEVACs per year, HSC-25 also conducts airborne firefighting using externally-carried buckets, Vertical Onboard Delivery (VOD), drone and torpedo recovery, special operations airborne support, and fleet logistics support for all military activities in the Guam area, including the Maritime Prepositioned Ships operating in the local area.
“The isolation here on Guam creates the opportunity to have a bigger impact on lives of the people we are around, both at work and at home," LaRoche said. "This is my second tour on Guam with the HSC 25 Island Knights. My family wanted to come back because living on base on Guam, with the other families from my squadron, has a familiar small-town feel.”
According to officials at the U.S. Navy’s Pacific Fleet headquarters in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, the ships, submarines, aircraft and Navy personnel forward-deployed to Guam are part of the world’s largest fleet command and serve in a region critical to U.S. national security. The U.S. Pacific Fleet encompasses 100 million square miles, nearly half the Earth’s surface, from Antarctica to the Arctic Circle and from the West Coast of the United States into the Indian Ocean. All told, there are more than 200 ships and submarines, nearly 1,200 aircraft, and more than 130,000 uniformed and civilian personnel serving in the Pacific.
Serving in the Navy means LaRoche 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, LaRoche is most proud of the first MEDEVAC he flew in Iraq.
“That flight was the culmination of six years of leadership and aviation training," said LaRoche. "It was a long road to become trained and ready to execute the mission in a combat environment.”
As a member of one of the U.S. Navy’s most relied upon assets, LaRoche and other sailors know they are part of a legacy that will last beyond their lifetimes, one that will provide a critical component of the Navy the nation needs.
“The privilege of service is complicated to describe, it is both difficult and rewarding," added LaRoche. "Like many civilians, I often forget that the young people I work beside have sworn their lives to protect the Constitution of the United States. If you actually sit back and think about that, think about what that means, the real privilege is being able to work beside that kind of character.”
Lt. Cmdr. Levi LaRoche is a pilot serving with HSC 25, known as the “Island Knights,” a versatile squadron that’s capable of completing a number of important missions for the Navy with the MH-60S “Seahawk” helicopter.
"As a pilot, I am a leader," said LaRoche. "Whether I am in an office, airplane, helicopter, bridge of a ship, or flight deck, the Navy's expectation of me remains the same—lead the people around me to complete the task at hand."
LaRoche credits success in the Navy to many of the lessons learned in Greenville.
“Growing up in northern Maine taught me to solve problems by using whatever limited assets I had available, not always having the right tool for the job," said LaRoche. "That skill is consistently valuable and surprising to my team members.”
HSC 25 is the first and only forward-deployed vertical replenishment (VERTREP) squadron in the Navy and is tasked with supporting Seventh Fleet units in the Western Pacific, Indian Ocean, North Arabian Sea, and Persian Gulf. To provide this support, HSC-25 embarks two-aircraft detachments aboard Military Sealift Command vessels which provide transportation of equipment, fuel, supplies and ammunition to sustain U.S. forces worldwide.
They are the only Navy squadron based at Andersen Air Force Base, Guam.
In addition to VERTREP, HSC-25 provides 24-hour Search-and-Rescue/Medical Evacuation (MEDEVAC) services for Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands. Averaging more than 30 rescues and 70 MEDEVACs per year, HSC-25 also conducts airborne firefighting using externally-carried buckets, Vertical Onboard Delivery (VOD), drone and torpedo recovery, special operations airborne support, and fleet logistics support for all military activities in the Guam area, including the Maritime Prepositioned Ships operating in the local area.
“The isolation here on Guam creates the opportunity to have a bigger impact on lives of the people we are around, both at work and at home," LaRoche said. "This is my second tour on Guam with the HSC 25 Island Knights. My family wanted to come back because living on base on Guam, with the other families from my squadron, has a familiar small-town feel.”
According to officials at the U.S. Navy’s Pacific Fleet headquarters in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, the ships, submarines, aircraft and Navy personnel forward-deployed to Guam are part of the world’s largest fleet command and serve in a region critical to U.S. national security. The U.S. Pacific Fleet encompasses 100 million square miles, nearly half the Earth’s surface, from Antarctica to the Arctic Circle and from the West Coast of the United States into the Indian Ocean. All told, there are more than 200 ships and submarines, nearly 1,200 aircraft, and more than 130,000 uniformed and civilian personnel serving in the Pacific.
Serving in the Navy means LaRoche 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, LaRoche is most proud of the first MEDEVAC he flew in Iraq.
“That flight was the culmination of six years of leadership and aviation training," said LaRoche. "It was a long road to become trained and ready to execute the mission in a combat environment.”
As a member of one of the U.S. Navy’s most relied upon assets, LaRoche and other sailors know they are part of a legacy that will last beyond their lifetimes, one that will provide a critical component of the Navy the nation needs.
“The privilege of service is complicated to describe, it is both difficult and rewarding," added LaRoche. "Like many civilians, I often forget that the young people I work beside have sworn their lives to protect the Constitution of the United States. If you actually sit back and think about that, think about what that means, the real privilege is being able to work beside that kind of character.”