Helicopter Maritime Strike Squadron Five One (HSM-51), also known as "Warlords," is a

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...

helicopter A helicopter is a type of rotorcraft in which Lift (force), lift and thrust are supplied by horizontally spinning Helicopter rotor, rotors. This allows the helicopter to VTOL, take off and land vertically, to hover (helicopter), hover, and ...

squadron stationed at

Naval Air Facility Atsugi is a joint Japan-US naval air base located in the cities of Yamato, Kanagawa, Yamato and Ayase, Kanagawa, Ayase in Kanagawa Prefecture, Kanagawa, Japan. It is the largest United States Navy (USN) air base in the Pacific Ocean, and once housed ...

, located in Ayase City,

Kanagawa Prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Kantō region of Honshu. Kanagawa Prefecture is the List of Japanese prefectures by population, second-most populous prefecture of Japan at 9,221,129 (1 April 2022) and third-dens ...

Honshu , historically known as , is the largest of the four main islands of Japan. It lies between the Pacific Ocean (east) and the Sea of Japan (west). It is the list of islands by area, seventh-largest island in the world, and the list of islands by ...

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

. HSM-51 is part of the Helicopter Maritime Strike Wing, Pacific Fleet, which consists of seven squadrons based in San Diego. The squadron regularly deploys on various ships within the U.S. Navy's Seventh Fleet, primarily stationed in

Yokosuka is a city in Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. , the city has a population of 373,797, and a population density of . The total area is . Yokosuka is the 11th-most populous city in the Greater Tokyo Area, and the 12th in the Kantō region. The city i ...

, Japan.

History

HSL-51 was established on October 3, 1991, and underwent a transition to become HSM-51 on March 7, 2013.

2001

All eight detachments of the HSL-51 Warlords deployed in response to the terrorist attacks on September 11th. While the majority of Carrier Airwing Five remained in Atsugi, the Warlords deployed in support of the Global War on Terror (GWOT) and Operation Noble Eagle to the Persian Gulf, the Strait of Malacca, and the Micronesia Subregion.

2011

5 detachments were deployed in response to the a 9.0-magnitude earthquake and subsequent tsunami that struck northeastern Japan on March 11, 2011. They operated both independently and as part of the George Washington Strike Group, providing direct support for

Operation Tomodachi was a United States Armed Forces (especially United States Forces Japan, U.S. Forces Japan) assistance operation to support Japan in Emergency management, disaster relief following the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami. The operation took pl ...

. The entire squadron relocated from NAF Atsugi to NAF Misawa with less than 18 hours' notice. Throughout the relief efforts, they flew 118 sorties, accumulating 382 hours of flight time and delivering over 100 tons of critical supplies.

The meaning of Musashi

The Warlords squadron draws inspiration from the

samurai The samurai () were members of the warrior class in Japan. They were originally provincial warriors who came from wealthy landowning families who could afford to train their men to be mounted archers. In the 8th century AD, the imperial court d ...

warrior depicted on their unit insignia,

Miyamoto Musashi , was a Japanese swordsman, strategist, artist, and writer who became renowned through stories of his unique double-bladed swordsmanship and undefeated record in his 62 duels. Miyamoto is considered a ''Kensei (honorary title), kensei'' (swo ...

, reflecting their commitment to the principles associated with him. Miyamoto Musashi was a renowned figure in the 16th century, excelling in various disciplines such as warfare, art, sculpture, and calligraphy. As a master swordsman, he developed and refined a technique called niten'ichi ("two heavens as one"), which involved the simultaneous use of a large sword (katana) and a "companion sword" ( wakazashi). Musashi's expertise extended beyond swordsmanship to include proficiency in throwing weapons. His combat style emphasized a straightforward approach devoid of unnecessary embellishments or aesthetic considerations. The approval process for the symbol and patch was conducted in conjunction with the Japanese government.

Leadership

The

commanding officer The commanding officer (CO) or commander, or sometimes, if the incumbent is a general officer, commanding general (CG), is the officer in command of a military unit. The commanding officer has ultimate authority over the unit, and is usually give ...

of HSM-51 is Commander Tommy McDonald. The

executive officer An executive officer is a person who is principally responsible for leading all or part of an organization, although the exact nature of the role varies depending on the organization. In many militaries and police forces, an executive officer ...

is Commander Matthew Foster. The command master chief is Command Master Chief David L. Jenkins who holds the designations of Aviation Warfare Specialist (AW), Surface Warfare Specialist (SW), and Information Warfare Specialist (IW).

Mission

HSM-51, known as the "Warlords," is a forward-deployed helicopter squadron of the U.S. Navy. They operate the Sikorsky MH-60R "Seahawk" helicopters and are based at

. The squadron provides armed anti-surface and anti-submarine helicopter detachments to ships deployed in the Korean, Western Pacific, and

Persian Gulf The Persian Gulf, sometimes called the Arabian Gulf, is a Mediterranean seas, mediterranean sea in West Asia. The body of water is an extension of the Arabian Sea and the larger Indian Ocean located between Iran and the Arabian Peninsula.Un ...

regions. They also support executive transport for the Commander, U.S. Seventh Fleet, in Yokosuka, Japan. The HSM-51 recently transitioned from the SH-60B to the MH-60R, which offers improved capabilities. The MH-60R is equipped with a range of sensors, including low-frequency sonar, air-launched sonobuoys, surface search radar, an electronic support measures (ESM) system, and a

forward-looking infrared Forward-looking infrared (FLIR) cameras, typically used on military and civilian aircraft, use a thermographic camera that senses infrared radiation. The sensors installed in forward-looking infrared cameras, as well as those of other therma ...

(FLIR) turret. It carries various weapons such as torpedoes (Mk 46, Mk 50, or Mk 54), Hellfire missiles (AGM-114), and a machine gun ( M240 7.62 mm or GAU-21 0.50 in) mounted on the cabin door. HSM-51 is recognized as an elite squadron within the HSM community and is often referred to as the "varsity squad." Their primary missions include

anti-submarine warfare Anti-submarine warfare (ASW, or in the older form A/S) is a branch of underwater warfare that uses surface warships, aircraft, submarines, or other platforms, to find, track, and deter, damage, or destroy enemy submarines. Such operations ar ...

(ASW) and

anti-surface warfare Anti-surface warfare (ASuW or ASUW) is the branch of naval warfare concerned with the suppression of surface combatants. More generally, it is any weapons, sensors, or operations intended to attack or limit the effectiveness of an adversary's ...

(ASUW). They also engage in secondary missions like

search and rescue Search and rescue (SAR) 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, typically determined by the type of terrain the search ...

(SAR),

medical evacuation Medical evacuation, often shortened to medevac or medivac, is the timely and efficient movement and en route care provided by medical personnel to patients requiring evacuation or transport using medically equipped air ambulances, helicopters and ...

(MEDEVAC), vertical replenishment (VERTREP),

special operations Special operations or special ops are military activities conducted, according to NATO, by "specially designated, organized, selected, trained, and equipped forces using unconventional techniques and modes of employment." Special operations ma ...

support (SPECOPS), naval surface fire support (NSFS), communications relay (COMREL), and logistics support.

Squadron aircraft

The UH-3H Sea King helicopter was in service from 1991 to 2006, with a specific configuration for VIP purposes. Similarly, the SH-60 Seahawk helicopter was utilized from 1991 to 2013. The SH-60B variant was employed during this period, and from 2005 to 2013, a VIP-configured SH-60F model was also utilized. Since 2013, the MH-60R variant has been in service.

References

External links

HSM-51 Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hsm-51 Helicopter anti-submarine squadrons of the United States Navy