3 minute read
Build Your Foundation
By LT Brendon "McP" Lee, USN
Message from the JO President
I had the privilege of attending this year’s Gulf Coast Fleet Fly-In (GCFFI) that took place the last week of October. Thanks to all of the HMLA, HMH, HSC, HSM, VMM, and VRM squadrons for making the trip down to Pensacola to expose our future force of SNAs to the Fleet. We had about 250 attendees, ranging from retirees, active members, and past members, with a solid amount of new SNAs joining as NHA members. This was a testament to BradChad’s Membership Team and the TW-5 instructors who helped make it happen. Big shout out to all of the industry partners who made the trip to NAS Whiting Field to join the party and show our members the perks of being a NHA member and teaching them how to build their early foundations.
In addition to GCFFI, the NHA Region 1 Golf Tournament was held at the legendary Sea N Air Golf Course on Naval Air Station North Island over Veterans Day Weekend, and it was also a huge success. Thanks to CDR Kevin “RW” Ringelstein and his team at HSC-23, we were able to raise over $4,000 for the NHA Scholarship Fund, enabling us to support deserving NHA scholarship awardees. Another big shout out to Sideflare, MWR, and URT for donating some of the prizes for the winners.
As we look toward 2025, preparations for the annual NHA Symposium are in full force. This year’s theme will be “First Off Deck” which embraces the nature of our jobs within the Rotary Wing and Tilt Rotor Community. During my time aboard the aircraft carrier, helicopters were always the first ones off deck and flight operations could not be accomplished without a rotary wing platform airborne. This role plays true to our role in the future fight. We have had a rise in our rotary footprint within the Carrier Air Wing (CVW), and we embrace that role on a daily basis, supporting so many other assets other than ourselves. What sets us apart from the rest of the CVW is our wide array of mission sets to which we train to fight on a daily basis.
Although this year’s theme has already been developed, we still fully embrace all feedback and suggestions on how to make Symposium 2025 a success. Please reach out to the NHA Team if you have any forums or events you would like to see developed during this next year. Rumor has it we will be hosting a pickleball tournament as an alternate for the golf tournament this year. Stay tuned!
Very Respectfully,
