NORFOLK, Va. – Seaman Apprentice Jaquan Johnson, a native of Columbia, South Carolina, serves the U.S. Navy assigned to Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron (HSC) 5.
Johnson graduated from Columbia High School in 2023.
The skills and values needed to succeed in the Navy are similar to those found in Columbia.
“I learned early on that it is easier to do something you don’t want to do than it is to do something that doesn’t appeal to you,” Johnson said. “In the Navy, that is the situation you find yourself in a lot. You may not want to do a certain task, but you’ll do it because it’s somehow important to the mission. You don’t always just get to do the things that you like. That’s life.”
Johnson joined the Navy 10 months ago. Today, Johnson serves as a personnel specialist.
“I joined the Navy because I had become too complacent at home and it was time for a change,” Johnson said. “My mother did not want me to join the Navy and leave home, but I knew I had to do it.”
Members of HSC-5 fly and maintain the MH-60S Knighthawk helicopter within Carrier Air Wing SEVEN (CVW-7). The MH-60S's primary missions are Search and Rescue, Naval Special Warfare Support and Anti-Surface Warfare. Additional missions include logistic support, vertical replenishment, medical evacuation, non-combatant evacuation operations and maritime interdiction operations. In short, HSC-5 "Rescues, Protects and Delivers!"
The U.S. Navy is celebrating its 250th birthday this year.
According to Navy officials, “America is a maritime nation and for 250 years, America’s Warfighting Navy has sailed the globe in defense of freedom.”
With 90% of global commerce traveling by sea and access to the internet relying on the security of undersea fiber optic cables, Navy officials continue to emphasize that the prosperity of the United States is directly linked to recruiting and retaining talented people from across the rich fabric of America.
Johnson serves a Navy that operates far forward, around the world and around the clock, promoting the nation's prosperity and security.
“Serving in the Navy means everything to me because it has given me a chance to see a new way of life,” Johnson said.
Johnson is grateful to others for helping make a Navy career possible.
“I want to thank my mother for not giving up on me,” Johnson added. “She still wants me home, but she knows this is the best thing for me and she supports my decision.”