HSL-51
Encyclopedia
Helicopter Antisubmarine Squadron Light Five One (HSL-51) "WARLORDS" is a United States Navy
helicopter
squadron based at Naval Air Facility Atsugi
, Ayase City, Kanagawa Prefecture
, Honshū
Japan
. HSL-51 one of the seven squadrons making up Helicopter Maritime Strike Wing, Pacific Fleet
, based in San Diego and deploys aboard multiple ships in the US Navy's Seventh Fleet based in Yokosuka, Japan
.
CDR David Walt
Executive Officer
LCDR Marc Galman
Command Master Chief
CMDCM (AW/SW) John Vallesillo
, Japan
, the "Warlords" provide combat-ready armed anti-surface and anti-submarine helicopter detachments to ships deploying in the Korea
n, Western Pacific
and Persian Gulf
regions, as well as Executive Transport for Commander, U.S. Seventh Fleet home ported in Yokosuka, Japan
.
The squadron performs a diverse set of multi-role missions with emphasis on:
Secondary missions include:
In 2009, seven HSL-51 detachments were underway supporting surface combatants home ported in Yokosuka, Japan. Operations ranged from the Indian Ocean to Perth, Australia. HSL-51 surpassed 114,000 flight hours, completing 18 years of Class A mishap-free operation.
The squadron's SH-60B helicopters were embarked most of the year. Aircraft from HSL-51 participated in many exercises and operations. The detachments flew most in the demanding small deck environment. HSL-51 logged over 3,000 small deck landings, over half of which were conducted in the darkness of night.
* Recipient of the 2009 COMPACFLT Retention Excellence award.
* Awarded the 2009 Sikorsky Aircraft "Golden Wrench" Award for Maintenance Excellence
* Awarded the 2009 CNAP BATTLE "E"
* Continued execution of Standard Operating Procedures for Joint HSL/U.S. Army Air Cavalry
Counter Special Operation Forces (CSOF) missions.
* Achieved the milestone of 114,000 mishap free flight hours.
Professional excellence is one aspect of Warlord Development. Warlords pride themselves on a dedicated program of civic involvement. 55 HSL-51 members volunteered over 1550 hours of community service through the Navy’s Personal Excellence Partnership (PEP). The squadron supported Shirley Lanham Elementary School with chaperones for various field trips, working parties for improvement projects, teachers’ assistants, and coaches for sports teams. Other activities include:
* Supported the Camp Zama High School JROTC Unit.
* Provided Mentors and Chaperones for the Cooperative Education Group.
* Provided Official Squadron Ball Caps for “Caps for Kids.”
* Provided volunteers to Terrao elementary school reading program.
Warlords demonstrated time and again, exceptional warfare prowess while supporting a demanding, and volatile operational tempo. No squadron in the world could boast a higher morale or be more proud. The success of the squadron was made possible only by the dedication of each individual from the newest Airman to the Commanding Officer.
SH-60 Seahawk
United States Navy
The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...
helicopter
Helicopter
A helicopter is a type of rotorcraft in which lift and thrust are supplied by one or more engine-driven rotors. This allows the helicopter to take off and land vertically, to hover, and to fly forwards, backwards, and laterally...
squadron based at Naval Air Facility Atsugi
Naval Air Facility Atsugi
is a naval air base located in the cities of Yamato and Ayase in Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. It is the largest United States Navy air base in the Pacific Ocean and houses the squadrons of Carrier Air Wing 5, which deploys with the aircraft carrier...
, Ayase City, Kanagawa Prefecture
Kanagawa Prefecture
is a prefecture located in the southern Kantō region of Japan. The capital is Yokohama. Kanagawa is part of the Greater Tokyo Area.-History:The prefecture has some archaeological sites going back to the Jōmon period...
, Honshū
Honshu
is the largest island of Japan. The nation's main island, it is south of Hokkaido across the Tsugaru Strait, north of Shikoku across the Inland Sea, and northeast of Kyushu across the Kanmon Strait...
Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
. HSL-51 one of the seven squadrons making up Helicopter Maritime Strike Wing, Pacific Fleet
Pacific Fleet
A number of countries currently have or previously had an Pacific Fleet in their navies.*United States Pacific Fleet*Pacific Fleet *Pacific Naval Force *British Pacific Fleet...
, based in San Diego and deploys aboard multiple ships in the US Navy's Seventh Fleet based in Yokosuka, Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
.
Leadership
Commanding OfficerCommanding officer
The commanding officer is the officer in command of a military unit. Typically, the commanding officer has ultimate authority over the unit, and is usually given wide latitude to run the unit as he sees fit, within the bounds of military law...
CDR David Walt
Executive Officer
Executive officer
An executive officer is generally a person responsible for running an organization, although the exact nature of the role varies depending on the organization.-Administrative law:...
LCDR Marc Galman
Command Master Chief
CMDCM (AW/SW) John Vallesillo
Mission
The "Warlords" are the US Navy's only forward deployed Sikorsky SH-60B "Seahawk" LAMPS Mk III helicopter squadron. Home ported in Naval Air Facility AtsugiNaval Air Facility Atsugi
is a naval air base located in the cities of Yamato and Ayase in Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. It is the largest United States Navy air base in the Pacific Ocean and houses the squadrons of Carrier Air Wing 5, which deploys with the aircraft carrier...
, Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
, the "Warlords" provide combat-ready armed anti-surface and anti-submarine helicopter detachments to ships deploying in the Korea
Korea
Korea ) is an East Asian geographic region that is currently divided into two separate sovereign states — North Korea and South Korea. Located on the Korean Peninsula, Korea is bordered by the People's Republic of China to the northwest, Russia to the northeast, and is separated from Japan to the...
n, Western Pacific
Pacific Ocean
The Pacific Ocean is the largest of the Earth's oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic in the north to the Southern Ocean in the south, bounded by Asia and Australia in the west, and the Americas in the east.At 165.2 million square kilometres in area, this largest division of the World...
and Persian Gulf
Persian Gulf
The Persian Gulf, in Southwest Asia, is an extension of the Indian Ocean located between Iran and the Arabian Peninsula.The Persian Gulf was the focus of the 1980–1988 Iran-Iraq War, in which each side attacked the other's oil tankers...
regions, as well as Executive Transport for Commander, U.S. Seventh Fleet home ported in Yokosuka, Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
.
The squadron performs a diverse set of multi-role missions with emphasis on:
- Under-sea warfare (USW)
- Anti-surface warfareAnti-Surface WarfareAnti-surface warfare is a type of naval warfare directed against surface combatants. More generally, it is any weapons, sensors, or operations intended to attack or limit the effectiveness of an adversary's surface ships....
(SUW). - Search and rescueSearch and rescueSearch and rescue is the search for and provision of aid to people who are in distress or imminent danger.The general field of search and rescue includes many specialty sub-fields, mostly based upon terrain considerations...
(SAR) - ESES-Geography:* Spain, a country in Europe, ES in the ISO 3166-1 country code* El Salvador, FIPS 10-4 country code* Espírito Santo, a state in Brazil, ISO 3166-2:BR code* Eš, a village in the Czech Republic-Science:...
(Electronic Surveillance) - RADARRadarRadar is an object-detection system which uses radio waves to determine the range, altitude, direction, or speed of objects. It can be used to detect aircraft, ships, spacecraft, guided missiles, motor vehicles, weather formations, and terrain. The radar dish or antenna transmits pulses of radio...
(Surface-Search Radar) - Support of Special OperationsSpecial operationsSpecial operations are military operations that are considered "special" .Special operations are typically performed independently or in conjunction with conventional military operations. The primary goal is to achieve a political or military objective where a conventional force requirement does...
Secondary missions include:
- Medical evacuation (MEDEVAC)
- LogisticsLogisticsLogistics is the management of the flow of goods between the point of origin and the point of destination in order to meet the requirements of customers or corporations. Logistics involves the integration of information, transportation, inventory, warehousing, material handling, and packaging, and...
support.
History
2010 proved to be an outstanding year for the WARLORDS of HSL-51. The squadron continued to excel as the premier LAMPS Mk III (Light Airborne Multi-Purpose System) helicopter squadron in the Navy. As the only permanently forward deployed LAMPS Mk III squadron in the world, HSL-51 has time and again achieved a standard of operational and professional excellence superior to other HSL squadrons in the U.S. Navy.In 2009, seven HSL-51 detachments were underway supporting surface combatants home ported in Yokosuka, Japan. Operations ranged from the Indian Ocean to Perth, Australia. HSL-51 surpassed 114,000 flight hours, completing 18 years of Class A mishap-free operation.
The squadron's SH-60B helicopters were embarked most of the year. Aircraft from HSL-51 participated in many exercises and operations. The detachments flew most in the demanding small deck environment. HSL-51 logged over 3,000 small deck landings, over half of which were conducted in the darkness of night.
* Recipient of the 2009 COMPACFLT Retention Excellence award.
* Awarded the 2009 Sikorsky Aircraft "Golden Wrench" Award for Maintenance Excellence
* Awarded the 2009 CNAP BATTLE "E"
* Continued execution of Standard Operating Procedures for Joint HSL/U.S. Army Air Cavalry
Counter Special Operation Forces (CSOF) missions.
* Achieved the milestone of 114,000 mishap free flight hours.
* Supported the Camp Zama High School JROTC Unit.
* Provided Mentors and Chaperones for the Cooperative Education Group.
* Provided Official Squadron Ball Caps for “Caps for Kids.”
* Provided volunteers to Terrao elementary school reading program.
Warlords demonstrated time and again, exceptional warfare prowess while supporting a demanding, and volatile operational tempo. No squadron in the world could boast a higher morale or be more proud. The success of the squadron was made possible only by the dedication of each individual from the newest Airman to the Commanding Officer.
Squadron Aircraft
UH-3H Sea King- UH-3H, 1991 - 2006
SH-60 Seahawk
- SH-60B, 1991 - present
- VIP Configured SH-60F, 2005 - present
See also
- History of the United States NavyHistory of the United States NavyThe history of the United States Navy divides into two major periods: the "Old Navy", a small but respected force of sailing ships that was also notable for innovation in the use of ironclads during the American Civil War, and the "New Navy", the result of a modernization effort that began in the...
- List of United States Navy aircraft squadrons