Gretchen Swanson:
CLASS OF 1989
Tahoma High SchoolClass of 1989
Maple valley, WA
University of WashingtonClass of 1993
Seattle, WA
Gretchen's Story
Life
As expected, I went to college after high school and finished at the University of Washington in '93- aerospace engineering degree - and went to work for Boeing. I decided that wasn't exciting enough, so I joined the Navy and became a Naval Aviator. Now I fly SH-60F/HH-60H helicopters, first with Helicopter Antisubmarine Squadron (HS) 15 out of Jacksonville, FL. I deployed twice, on USS DWIGHT D. EISENHOWER and USS GEORGE WASHINGTON, but finished at HS-15 in early 2001. I then spent nearly two years working as a flight instructor at HS-10 in San Diego, teaching new aviators how to fly this helicopter. I also found the time to complete a Masters degree in Aeronautics and Astronautics, which I finished in June 2003. I moved to Virginia Beach, VA, in April 2003 where I wor...Expand for more
ked on the staff of the U.S. Second Fleet as their staff Helicopter Operations Officer, which is much less interesting than it sounds. I moved to the Naval Safety Center in early 2005, got promoted to the rank of Lieutenant Commander, and departed in early 2006 to go back to flying. I'm now a Department Head with the Dusty Dogs of HS-7, and we just returned in June 2008 from a 7 month deployment on the USS Harry S Truman (CVN75). Saw lots of wild stuff and went places I never imagined going (I went to Beirut, during a near civil war, for heaven's sake!). I should be done in Jacksonville by January 2009 and will be able to move back to Virginia Beach to finally get to live with my new husband! I met a wonderful guy named Craig in late 2004 and we got married in late July 2008!
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