Eagle River grad works to keep sub-hunting helicopters flying

Josh Wood is a submarine hunter.

The 2010 Eagle River High School graduate and current U.S. Navy Petty Officer 2nd Class was recently featured in a profile by the Navy’s American Connections Media Outreach blog, which highlights the work of sailors for their local communities. An aviation electrician’s mate with the Navy’s HSM 71 squadron, Wood is responsible for helping keep the Navy’s MH-60R “Seahawk” helicopter in the air.

“I ensure that all maintenance priorities for the day get delivered to the personnel and all our work orders get done in a timely manner,” Wood explained in the piece by Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Jerry Jimenez.

The squadron’s mission is to patrol ocean and coastal environments — including hunting for submarines, trying to locate targets on the surface and helping with search-and-rescue operations, Jimenz wrote.

Wood said the helicopters he works on serve a specific role.

“Its primary mission is to find, track and destroy enemy submarines,” he said. “It also does surface warfare and search and rescue missions.”

Read the complete profile here.