The "Seahawks" of Helicopter Maritime Strike Squadron (HSM) 41 held a change of command ceremony at Naval Air Station North Island in Coronado, California, June 25.

At the ceremony, Cmdr. Gregory S. Thoroman relieved Cmdr. Brent C. Gaut as the commanding officer of HSM-41.

Gaut, born in Stockton, California, graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy with a Bachelor of Science degree in English in 1994.

As HSM-41's commanding officer, Gaut led more than 700 Sailors and civilians in the operation and maintenance of 28 MH-60R Sea Hawk helicopters and four state-of-the-art simulators, and was responsible for training West Coast MH-60R fleet replacement pilots and air crewmen.

The "Seahawks" had a remarkable year of production. HSM-41 seamlessly transitioned HSM-49 in San Diego to the MH-60R aircraft. Additionally, the Seahawks flawlessly executed more than 8,000 syllabus events and more than 18,500 mishap-free flight and simulator hours.

The command's extraordinary efforts culminated in the on-time graduation of 184 combat-ready fleet replacement pilots and air crewmen and unprecedented selection as the 2014 Commander Ellyson Production Excellence Award and CNO Aviation Safety Award winner.

Gaut's next duty station will be the Naval Nuclear Power Training Command in Goose Creek, South Carolina.

Thoroman, a graduate of Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University with a Bachelor of Science degree in Professional Aeronautics, enlisted in the U.S. Navy in 1988 from Tallahassee, Florida. He attended Aviation Officer Candidate School and was later commissioned an ensign and designated a naval aviator through the Naval Aviation Cadet Program in June 1995.

At sea, his career as a naval aviator includes assignments with Helicopter Anti-Submarine Squadron (Light) (HSL) 37 aboard USS Chosin (CG 65) as part of the USS Constellation (CV 64) Battle Group in support of Operation Southern Watch. He also served as flag lieutenant for commander, Cruiser-Destroyer Group 5, USS Nimitz (CVN 68) Carrier Strike Group in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom and Enduring Freedom.

He completed his department head tour with HSL-51 as the officer-in-charge of Detachment 5 deploying aboard USS Lassen (DDG 82) in support of Operation Enduring Freedom - Philippines, and the command's maintenance officer. Thoroman served as executive officer and commanding officer of the "Easyriders" of HSL-37 from November 2010 to April 2013.

The ceremony's guest speaker, Capt. Shawn P. Malone, commander, Helicopter Maritime Strike Wing, U.S. Pacific Fleet, spoke to the pride and professionalism of the entire HSM-41 "Seahawk" team, expressing what an integral part the squadron plays in naval aviation.

HSM-41's mission is to train naval aviators, air crewmen, and aircraft maintainers to fight, fly and fix the MH-60R Sea Hawk helicopter.

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