HOWELL – Howell Township native Airman Apprentice Nicholas Sloan is serving in the U.S. Navy assigned to Aviation Rescue Swimmer School (ARSS) with the generation of Aviation Rescue Swimmers (AIRRs).
Sloan graduated from Academy of Law and Public Safety in 2024, and joined the Navy less than one year ago. Currently, he is a student rescue swimmer.
“I saw a documentary about the BUDS program,” Sloan said. “I joined the Navy to be part of a crew, to work as a team and get the experience as aircrew and then try for the BUDS/SEAL program.”
The skills and values needed to succeed in the Navy are similar to those found in Howell, Sloan noted.
“My hometown taught me to never give up no matter what,” Sloan said. “They taught me to embrace the hardships.”
The ARSS, located at Naval Air Station Pensacola in Florida, provides initial aviation water survival training and CPR qualification to all preflight student naval aviators as well as student naval flight officers, student flight surgeons, naval aircrew candidates, student aviators from other branches of the U.S. Armed Forces and international student aviators.
AIRRs are a team dedicated to being the top emergency response unit in the world. They are a part of the world’s most elite Special Operations force and are taught to execute life-or-death rescues in the most extreme conditions imaginable. This could consist of leaping from helicopters, swimming through raging seas and saving victims whose lives are on the line. These search and rescue missions can be held in some of the most extreme environments imaginable.
The motto of an AIRR is, “so others may live” – It is a testament to not only the selflessness of this job but the honor, courage, and commitment it takes to do it well.
The Navy operates around the world and around the clock, promoting the nation’s prosperity and security. During his military service, Sloan has many opportunities to achieve accomplishments.
“I’m most proud of persevering because to me, serving in the Navy means no matter what happened previously, never give up. It means encouraging others to do the same.,” Sloan said. “Serving in the Navy means fighting to protect the Constitution, of which we’ve been given our freedoms in the greatest country in the world. It means being a part of the strongest military and the strongest Navy in the world.”
Sloan expressed his gratitude to those who helped make a Navy career possible.
“I would like to thank my mom and dad, Ehrin Sloan and Kevin Sloan,” Sloan added. “I would also like to thank my neighbor, Keith Byard. He retired from the Marine Corps, and he helped me transition from civilian to military.”
