HT-8 Instructor Saves Swimmer at the Beach

MILTON, Fla. - (NNS) -- A relaxing and calm day at the beach for a Helicopter Training Squadron EIGHT instructor pilot quickly turned intense when he heard cries for help from the gulf waters, July 6.

With no lifeguard nearby, Lt. Cmdr. Gabe Somma jumped in the waters to aid the distressed swimmer.

Enjoying a bright, clear day on Pensacola Beach, Sunday, July 8, Somma and his family were sitting and enjoying the sunshine when someone yelled from the water. He and another man looked at each other and ran to the ocean, according to Somma. It was just a case of being in the right place at the right time, he said.

"Really, it was just instinct. Anybody in that position would have done what I did."
But not everyone would have had his level of training.

A competitive swimmer from his youth, Somma still trains intensely for both his Coast Guard career and his enjoyment of Triathlon meets. He swam out to help bring 60 year old Margaret Murphy back to shore. She had drifted out into deeper water and got caught in some of the Gulf Coast's erratic currents. Kicking together, they were able to move closer to shore when the other Samaritan arrived and helped pull Murphy into shallower waters where they could walk to shore. Murphy, a tourist visiting Pensacola, was scared, but uninjured during the ordeal.

Despite his high level of fitness and competence, Somma was still exhausted afterwards. The effort gave him a new-found admiration for the work rescue swimmers do. As an HH-65 "Dolphin" pilot for the Coast Guard, he has been in the front seat for many rescues, but this was his first in the water.

"It's a lot easier in the helo," he said. "What they do is very physically demanding. I have a real appreciation for the power and the skill of our rescue swimmers."

Ultimately the courage Somma showed is an extension of his uniformed service said Cmdr. Paul Bowdich, commanding officer of HT-8.

"It is always nice to know our service members out in town are still living up to the expectations we have of a military officer. Even when we take off the uniform, we never lose our responsibilities to our community, our service and our country."



For more information, visit www.navy.mil, www.facebook.com/usnavy, or www.twitter.com/usnavy.>
For more news from Naval Air Station Whiting Field, visit www.navy.mil/local/naswf/.