JO President's Report

Be Ready

By LT Zoe "Latrina" Macfarlane, USN

At Tailhook 2023, ADM Aquilino responded to a JO’s question with two words: “Be Ready.” That statement resonated within the room of aviators because readiness depends on the circumstances. What does being ready look like for the HSC Community in a time when there is change and uncertainty in some of our primary and secondary mission sets? For example, the discussion about the future of the MQ-8 adds uncertainty to the mission sets that HSC will be expected to fulfill. We don’t have a clear answer on whether funding will continue for the MQ-8. If funding is discontinued, will HSC continue to have an unmanned platform? If not HSC, will another community fill in the role? Furthermore, there has been expansion within the AMCM mission. With HSC-23 recently picking up AMCM, both expeditionary squadrons on the west coast will be executing AMCM on LCS deployments.

Beyond questions about our capabilities within functional areas, we face more global questions (literally and figuratively). Are we ready for war with adversaries that we believe to be the biggest threats to national and international security? Just as importantly, would we be ready for a different adversary and battlespace than what we have been anticipating? To get a better sense of what our community thinks about our readiness, I polled the HSC-3 JO Wardroom with two questions. The first question was, “If we go to war in the next two years, do you think the HSC Community is ready?” The second being, “What mission do you think would be, or become, HSC’s primary role in said war?” The answer to the second question is especially important. While we need to be ready for anything, we also need to take a hard look at what the future looks like for HSC and aviation as a whole, and train accordingly.

EABO, Combat Logistics, MCSAR, AMCM, ASUW, and PG/VERTREP/MEDEVAC were the six options listed as answers for the second question I asked. Of the thirty-two answers I received from HSC-3 JOs, twenty votes were for Combat Logistics, seven were for PG/VERTREP/MEDEVAC, two for AMCM, two for MCSAR, and one for EABO. Clearly, the resounding answer was combat logistics. Although my question was specific to HSC, I think that a similar question should be asked across all aviation communities. Furthermore, I think the statement “be ready” begs additional questions that are applicable across all platforms. First and foremost, are we ready? Even if the answer isn’t a resounding “yes,” folks in the aviation community have the heart and drive to get where we need to be no matter the environment or circumstances. Everyone in our community has chosen to serve. While there may not be a clear-cut answer to what the future looks like, the pilots, crewmen, and maintainers in the aviation community have the will and passion to meet the mission, and that can’t be measured as a readiness metric.