Capt. Patrick Blind, a Virginia Beach, Virginia native and 2003 graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy, currently serves as Executive Officer on board USS George Washington (CVN 73). Born into a proud Navy family, he earned his wings of gold in 2004 and served his first sea tour flying SH-60s with the Warlords of Helicopter Anti-Submarine Squadron Light (HSL) 51 out of Atsugi, Japan, deploying on board both USS Cowpens (CG 63) and USS Shiloh (CG 67).Capt. Blind’s sea tours include instructor duty with the Airwolves of HSL-40, Air Boss on board USS New York (LPD 21), and the Saberhawks of Helicopter Maritime Strike Squadron (HSM) 77, deploying on board the USS George Washington (CVN 73), USS Ronald Regan (CVN 76), USS Antietam (CG 54) and USS Chancellorsville (CG 62). Additionally, he served as Executive Officer for the Proud Warriors of HSM 72 and, in 2022, took command, As CO of HSM 72, he maintained around-the-clock surface and subsurface threat coverage for USS Harry S. Truman (CVN 75) and Carrier Strike Group (CSG) 8 during their 2021-2022 deployment.
Capt. Blind’s additional shore assignments include the Training and Exercise directorate (J71) at U.S. Cyber Command and OPNAV N98 as the Manpower Branch Head. He is also a graduate of the Navy’s Nuclear Power Program and a 2014 MBA graduate of Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, California.