Commander James J. Moore

Executive Officer, Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron (HSC) 25

02 March 2021 Commander Moore was born in rural Kentucky. His family later moved west where he was raised in the idyllic mountain-town of Crested Butte, Colorado. CDR Moore first graduated with twelve other students from the K-12 Crested Butte Community School—and later graduated with Honors from Georgia Tech and earned his Masters degree from Harvard University.

CDR Moore was designated a Naval Aviator in 2006 graduating on the Commodore’s List with Distinction. The following year, CDR Moore became fleet-qualified in the H-60F/H. His tour with the ‘Island Knights’ marks his third with Forward Deployed Naval Forces—as such, CDR Moore has deployed extensively in the Pacific theater from the North Pacific to the Indian Ocean. CDR Moore has completed eight Carrier Air Wing deployments and five additional expeditionary deployments. His expeditionary experience is blended both at-sea and shore-based in support of combined Special Operations Forces and as Det OIC.

CDR Moore is proudest of his team accomplishments. He is a member of two Navy Battle “E” squadrons and multiple Arnold J. Isbell trophy winners. Additionally, while serving as a fleet instructor pilot at HSC-3, CDR Moore led a civil-military team that eventually connected the first MH-60S simulator devices to dissimilar Naval Aviation assets, a technology still used in graduate-level tactics training today. During the same tour, CDR Moore was recognized with a joint team of aerial firefighters that helped save 181 homes in California in sustained firefighting operations. Most recently, CDR Moore led the HSC-12 Maintenance team to the coveted Department of Defense ‘Phoenix Award’ recognizing the top overall maintenance outfit across the entire DoD.

In nearly two decades of flying and with the support of many hundreds of dedicated and competent sailors and flight crews, CDR Moore has amassed over 2,900 mishap-free flight hours split roughly between the SH-60F, HH-60H, and MH-60S.

CDR Moore has won numerous personal awards including multiple Carrier Air Wing ‘Pilot of the Year’ honors,  multiple Naval Helicopter Association ‘Pilot of the Year’ awards, and is proud to have been peer-nominated for the Navy-Marine Corps Leadership Award three times. CDR Moore was also awarded the Philippine Army Commendation medal for service during Operation Enduring Freedom-Philippines.