MILLINGTON, Tenn. – When NASA’s Artemis II crew splashed down in the Pacific upon their return to Earth from their flight around the moon, U.S. Navy sailors stood ready to welcome them home.
Petty Officer 1st Class Harlan Walls, from Oakland, California, was among the sailors who supported the recovery of the crew and the Orion space capsule.
Walls, a 2005 graduate of Far West High School, serves the U.S. Navy assigned to Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron (HSC) 23, which airlifted the Artemis II crew back to USS John P. Murtha for further evaluations and then back to land.
The skills and values needed to succeed in the Navy are similar to those found in Oakland.
“My life has been filled with lessons to be learned at every corner,” Walls said. “I just kept my eyes open and realized that every day lived was a day to learn something new. My mother spent a large amount of time showing me that kindness and care for your fellow man will take you places that you may not normally get to based on pure work ethic. To quote, ‘Your character will open doors that your talent can’t.’ I have always been on a team of some sort through sports, so joining a bigger team is only natural.”
Walls joined the Navy 18 years ago. Today, Walls serves as an aviation electronics technician.
“I joined the Navy because my life wasn’t going anywhere I needed it to go,” Walls said. “I needed structure and guidance to get on the best path I could at the time. My brother was a Marine and had been my idol growing up and I also had a best friend who joined a few months prior, so I looked into the military.”
NASA’s Artemis II mission sent four astronauts – NASA’s Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch and the Canadian Space Agency’s Jeremy Hansen – on a nearly 10-day flight around the moon in the Orion space capsule, marking the first time in more than 50 years that humans journeyed to deep space. The crew splashed down just after 5 p.m. (PDT) on April 10 in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of San Diego, where Navy sailors who had been training for this recovery mission were waiting aboard John P. Murtha.
In addition to transporting the crew, members of HSC-23 also provided NASA with imagery support from their MH-60S Sea Hawk helicopters by tracking the Orion space capsule as it traveled through Earth’s atmosphere.
Based at Naval Air Station North Island, California, the “Wildcards” of HSC-23 fly and maintain the MH-60S Sea Hawk helicopter, the Navy’s most advanced rotary wing sea combat platform. The Navy MH-60S is able to perform many different missions, but some of the most common operations include airborne mine countermeasures, anti-surface warfare, combat search and rescue, supply support and medical evacuations.
Walls has many opportunities to achieve accomplishments during military service.
“I would have to say my proudest accomplishment is seeing all of my junior sailors accomplishing things throughout their careers and becoming the leaders the world needs,” Walls said. “Additionally, providing humanitarian support to the Middle East region during my 2010 deployment.”
This year, the Navy is commemorating its contribution to the nation’s defense as the United States celebrates 250 years of independence. According to Navy officials, for more than 250 years, the Navy has sailed the globe defending freedom and protecting prosperity.
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.
“The Navy has provided me with an abundance of friends, some I will happily call family now,” Walls said. “Serving in the Navy means I can proudly state that I made a difference, along with my brothers and sisters, to bring peace to our homes and families.”
Walls is grateful to others for helping make a Navy career possible.
“My mother has been a beacon of what I believe a human should strive to be,” Walls said. “Her love and kindness and support are truly why I am who I am. I want to thank my brother, who is one of the main reasons why I joined, since he was a Marine and was my idol growing up. To my family members back home, Trystan, Adrian, Josh and Danny: Thanks for being my homies through thick and thin.”