A 2009 Effingham County High School graduate and Springfield native is serving with a U.S. Navy helicopter squadron that flies the Navy’s newest and most technologically advanced helicopter.

Petty Officer 1st Class Steven Shealy is an aviation ordnanceman with the “Airwolves” of Helicopter Maritime Strike Squadron (HSM) 40, a Mayport, Fla.-based squadron that operates the Navy’s next generation submarine hunter and Anti-Surface Warfare helicopter, the MH-60R Seahawk.

Each helicopter is nearly 65 feet long, may weigh up to 23,500 lbs. (max gross) and can travel over 120 mph for nearly 320 miles on a tank of gas.

As an aviation ordnanceman, Shealy is responsible for working with the weapons and maintaining the systems on the MH-60R.

See the Sept. 6 edition of the Effingham Herald for more details.