Serve as helicopter aircrewman on MH-60S/R Seahawk helicopters. Operate sensors, weapons, and rescue equipment during anti-submarine, search and rescue, and combat missions.
ASVAB AR+MK+EI+GS: 210
Catalog listing, not a contract offer. Confirm with a recruiter.
Helicopter aircrewmen fly the fleet's utility and combat support helicopter, and many of them are qualified rescue swimmers as well. One flight might move cargo and passengers between ships, fly a search and rescue pattern, support special operations, or put a swimmer into the water for a recovery. Between flights you inspect and rig the cabin, run the hoist and cargo hook, manage survival equipment and help maintainers keep aircraft available. Carrier deployments mean months at sea standing alert duty with a launch clock measured in minutes. The routine swings from tedious logistics runs to the most consequential twenty minutes of somebody's life.
You learn crew chief work, covering aircraft systems, preflight inspection, hoist and sling load operation, and emergency procedures in flight. Rescue swimmer qualification adds open water rescue technique, survival swimming and casualty handling in surf and heavy seas. Medical training covers trauma care, patient packaging and treating injuries in a vibrating cabin with no room to kneel. Door gunner duties bring weapons handling and the judgment behind employing them from a moving aircraft. Navigation, radio discipline and search pattern management complete a skill set that is unusually broad for an enlisted job.
Pulling people out of the water builds a settled kind of courage that never needs to announce itself. You learn to manage fear procedurally, working through the checklist while your heart rate argues loudly with the rest of you. The job develops physical resilience and the honesty to say out loud when you are too tired to be safe. Crew life grows communication habits, because vague words over an intercom are how somebody on your aircraft gets hurt. Most aircrewmen come home more capable, steadier under stress, and considerably harder to impress than when they first left.
Rescue and aircrew experience translates unusually well, and employers in emergency services recognize it on sight. The EMT and paramedic path is a natural next step, and fire departments actively recruit this background with veterans' preference in play. Air ambulance and flight rescue programs hire crew chiefs and medical crew who already know how to work safely around a running helicopter. Aviation employers also value hoist, sling load and cargo handling experience for utility, logging and offshore operations. If you want a career built on competence under pressure, the doors on this side are wide open.
Published personal accounts with source links. Each describes an individual experience, not a typical assignment or a guarantee of your own experience.
“I joined the Navy because I felt stuck.”
“College was not working out, and my job in sales was not fulfilling. What drew me to the Navy was the chance to get uncomfortable, to test myself and to find out what I was really made of.”
“The instructors did not just teach us how to survive. They taught us how to think, how to make decisions under pressure and how to be accountable.”
“I was looking for a way to challenge myself.”
“I found out about the Warrior Challenge Program, and when I saw some of the jobs being offered, aviation rescue swimmer seemed like it was exactly what I was looking for. It wasn’t your normal kind of job, and I knew it would push me each and every day. At the same time, joining the Navy would allow me to serve my country and be a part of something bigger than myself. It was something I could be proud of.”
Quotes are from U.S. government public-domain news stories (DVIDS, army.mil and other official sources). Individuals and units are named as reported at time of publication.
You suit up early in flight gear and brief the mission with the crew before stepping to an MH-60S Seahawk. Airborne, you operate sensors and weapons, run the rescue hoist during search and rescue, and support anti-submarine and combat missions. Post-flight maintenance on your equipment and mission debriefs with the aircrew wrap up your demanding day.
No suitable exact-MOS or related career-field video has been verified for this page yet. No unrelated video or search-results page is substituted.
$43,902–$74,948
2026 basic pay only; the same grade and service time pay the same across jobs. Promotions are assumed, not promised. Excludes allowances, bonuses and special pays.
Possibilities for serving Sailors, including those in support roles—not guaranteed admission or awards. Individual eligibility, assignment, selection, available training or competition places and successful qualification apply.
Assignment-dependent qualification and insignia earned aboard a qualifying surface ship or afloat staff—not automatically awarded for this rating.
For enlisted Sailors in an eligible surface assignment, including support ratings. Complete the command's current qualification standards, assessments and approval process. A shore or submarine assignment alone does not establish eligibility; confirm current enrollment rules with the command.
Assignment-dependent aviation qualification and insignia; support Sailors may qualify at authorized aviation commands.
Requires a qualifying aviation assignment or an authorized support-command arrangement, required in-rating technical qualifications and command approval. Current enrollment and pay-grade prerequisites must be checked; this is not a promotion or a badge awarded just for holding this rating.
Restricted to qualifying expeditionary assignments; recognizes tested field and unit-specific proficiency, including support duties.
Requires assignment to a command authorized to administer EXW and completion of its general and unit-specific personnel qualification standards and approval process. Published NSW program evidence establishes this route, not that every Navy unit offers it. Confirm current command authorization and prerequisites.
Sources reviewed . Confirm current course and badge requirements with official school guidance and your unit.
For Navy AWS Naval Aircrewman Helicopter, official service-wide guidance and any exact feeder-list matches are distinguished below from unverified specialty-specific requirements. Ranks are not separate jobs, and these possibilities are not guaranteed promotions or available contracts.
Examples of higher service ranks
These are service-wide rank names, not a verified promotion ladder for this specialty. Examples are not exhaustive; appointments sharing a pay grade are not additional promotion steps.
Official military rank referenceThe Navy directs enlisted Sailors to rating-specific Learning and Development Roadmaps (LaDRs), and officers to their community managers and officer career-progression guidance. Rating conversion and commissioning are separate application paths, not automatic promotions.
Navy career planning: LaDRs, officer progression, and commissioningService-level application reference—not a verified next step for this listing
Limited Duty Officer (LDO) and Chief Warrant Officer (CWO) appointments require separate applications and program-specific qualifications. The reviewed active-duty page contains FY28 cycle requirements, not Reserve eligibility. Its 1 October 2026 application deadline has passed; this is not an open application offer or a verified designator match for this listing.
Navy active-duty LDO/CWO applicant requirementsSpecialty-specific advancement, senior assignments, and eligibility for a different personnel category have not been verified for this listing. No feeder eligibility or automatic transition to another specialty is implied.
Advancement depends on current service rules, performance, required education, qualifications, selection, and authorized positions—not simply years served. Confirm current requirements with an official recruiter or career counselor.
Related military jobs below are for exploration, not promised progression or confirmed transfer paths.
Sources reviewed 2026-10-03. This is a partial evidence review, not verification of every advancement route for this specialty. Source retrieval dates do not replace policy effective dates.
Career-field mappings, not automatic qualifications. Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (May 2024 national medians). O*NET links explain each occupation; military experience does not guarantee a job or salary.
Serve as helicopter aircrewman on MH-60S/R Seahawk helicopters. Operate sensors, weapons, and rescue equipment during anti-submarine, search and rescue, and combat missions.
Helicopter aircrewmen fly the fleet's utility and combat support helicopter, and many of them are qualified rescue swimmers as well. One flight might move cargo and passengers between ships, fly a search and rescue pattern, support special operations, or put a swimmer into the water for a recovery. Between flights you inspect and rig the cabin, run the hoist and cargo hook, manage survival equipment and help maintainers keep aircraft available. Carrier deployments mean months at sea standing alert duty with a launch clock measured in minutes. The routine swings from tedious logistics runs to the most consequential twenty minutes of somebody's life.
You learn crew chief work, covering aircraft systems, preflight inspection, hoist and sling load operation, and emergency procedures in flight. Rescue swimmer qualification adds open water rescue technique, survival swimming and casualty handling in surf and heavy seas. Medical training covers trauma care, patient packaging and treating injuries in a vibrating cabin with no room to kneel. Door gunner duties bring weapons handling and the judgment behind employing them from a moving aircraft. Navigation, radio discipline and search pattern management complete a skill set that is unusually broad for an enlisted job.
Rescue and aircrew experience translates unusually well, and employers in emergency services recognize it on sight. The EMT and paramedic path is a natural next step, and fire departments actively recruit this background with veterans' preference in play. Air ambulance and flight rescue programs hire crew chiefs and medical crew who already know how to work safely around a running helicopter. Aviation employers also value hoist, sling load and cargo handling experience for utility, logging and offshore operations. If you want a career built on competence under pressure, the doors on this side are wide open.
ASVAB AR+MK+EI+GS: 210. This is the catalog's listed requirement, not an individual eligibility decision. Confirm the current standard and any exceptions with the service.
This specialty can be pursued through an initial enlistment, subject to eligibility and available contracts. Confirm the current status of this specific classification with an official recruiter.
Catalog sources consulted: 2026-09-26. This is not an entry-by-entry verification date. No record-specific verification date is recorded. Occupation audit evidence reviewed: 2026-09-26; this does not re-verify every requirement.
Official branch occupation evidence
Occupation identified. This occupation was identified in the cited source. This does not verify requirements, benefits, or a current opening.
Navy enlisted occupational standards, NAVPERS 18068F, July 2026, Appendix B (rating enumeration) · reviewed 2026-09-26
Confirmed. Catalog evidence is not an inventory of open contracts.
No dated public inventory confirmed a currently open recruiting contract for this role. This does not mean there are no openings. Confirm current eligibility and offers with an official recruiter.
Deployment likelihood: Moderate*
* Estimated. Rank progression and specialty-pay eligibility are illustrative assumptions. Deployment likelihood, when shown, is inferred from similar specialties in the branch and career field, not a published specialty deployment rate.
Descriptions may change. No military role is free from risk of injury or death, including non-combat work. Catalog review dates do not establish current openings or re-verification of every requirement.
Recruiting signals reflect what each branch published on the dates shown. They are not offers, and they do not mean a contract is open for you. Eligibility depends on your ASVAB scores, medical qualification, security clearance eligibility, and ship date. Confirm everything with an official recruiter. See our Disclaimer and Terms.