Helicopter Maritime Strike Squadron 75 Receives Battle ‘E’ Award

The “Wolf Pack” of Helicopter Maritime Strike Squadron (HSM) 75 was presented the Naval Air Force Pacific 2013 Battle Efficiency award, or Battle “E”, June 19, at Naval Air Station North Island, Calif.

“This squadron is remarkable,” said Commander, Naval Air Forces, Vice Adm. David H. Buss. “When I think about what we had envisioned in naval aviation in terms of the standup of the HSM community, that is exactly what the ‘Wolf Pack’ did last year in Nimitz’s Strike Group.”

The men and women of HSM-75 deployed combat-ready detachments aboard five Carrier Strike Group 11 ships in support of national objectives. During the 2013 Western Pacific Deployment, HSM-75 conducted 252 consecutive days of deployed flight operations. The squadron completed 72,199 maintenance man-hours in the execution of 8,043 flight hours over 2,567 sorties.

“These Sailors operated across four different numbered fleets and three different geographical areas of responsibility and at every turn, HSM-75 was leading the way,” said Buss. “Every curveball we threw them, and every chance the squadron was given to excel, HSM-75 did exactly that.”

HSM-75’s MH-60R Seahawks are capable of operating on multiple platforms and provide mission capabilities to include search and rescue, mobility, electronic warfare, surface warfare, anti-submarine warfare, and command, control and communications.

“In my 35 years of service, I have never seen a squadron, in a year, accomplish what the ‘Wolf Pack’ did last year,” said Buss.

The aviation Battle “E” is the Navy’s top performance award presented to the aircraft carrier and aviation squadron in each competitive category that achieves the highest standards of performance readiness and efficiency. The award recognizes a unit’s training and operational achievements while including a balance that provides incentives for efficiency.

[mappress]
Press Release, June 20, 2014; Image: US Navy