Senior Chief Santini is a native of Hayward and raised in Newman, CA in 1980. He joined the Navy out of Sacramento, CA and reported to Recruit Training Command, Great Lakes, IL July 27, 2000. Upon graduation from recruit training he began his long training pipeline consisting of Naval Aircrew Candidate, Rescue Swimmer, Aviation Warfare Systems Operator, Survival/Evasion/Resistance/Escape, and Fleet Replacement Aircrewman schools at the end of which he joined the fleet as a Third Class Petty Officer.
 
His first tour of duty started April 2002 with the HSL-43 Battlecats. He completed two deployments to the FIFTH and SEVENTH Fleets onboard the USS Thach (FFG 43) and USS Antietam (CG 54). Senior Chief Santini was the only Battlecat Aircrewman to participate in HA/DR operations in Indonesia as a part of Operation Unified Assistance and Joint Task Force Katrina in 2005 and was selected as the 2005 Aircrewman of the Year. He qualified EAWS, ESWS, completed his Associates of Art degree in General Studies, and promoted to Second Class and First Class Petty Officer while serving as the Operations Department LPO.
 
In 2007 Senior Chief Santini was selected for instructor duty with the HSM-41 Seahawks Fleet Replacement Squadron. He qualified as Master Training Specialist, earned his Bachelors of Science degree in Sports and Health Sciences, was selected as the HSM-41 Senior Sailor of the Year, HSM Wing Pacific Shore Senior Sailor of the Year, and was a finalist for the Commander Naval Air Forces Shore Senior Sailor of the Year. He was promoted to the rank of Chief Petty officer in 2009.
 
Following his shore tour with the Seahawks, he was assigned to the Raptors of HSM-71 in 2010 as the Operations Department LCPO. He completed two back-to-back long deployments to FIFTH Fleet with the USS John C. Stennis (CVN 74) Strike Group as part of Carrier Air Wing NINE from 2011 to 2013.
 
In 2013, Senior Chief Santini returned to HSM-41 for a second tour of instructor duty and was designated as the Commander Naval Air Forces, Pacific Enlisted NATOPS Program Evaluator. He qualified as a Seahawk Weapons and Tactics Instructor in 2014 and shortly thereafter planned and executed the 2015 Naval Helicopter Association Aircrew Competition. He was a Navy Wide Advancement Exam writer and was selected to the rank of Senior Chief Petty Officer in 2016.
 
In June 2016 he joined the Easyriders of HSM-37 as the Operations Department LCPO. He earned his Master’s degree in Homeland Security and deployed onboard USS Mercy (TA-H 19) as the Senior Enlisted Leader for Commander Destroyer Squadron THREE ONE during Pacific Partnership 2018 in the Indo-Pacific region. 
 
As of March 2019, Senior Chief Santini has joined the HSMWSP team as their Senior Enlisted Advisor, bringing 18 years of experience and over 2,800 hours in the 60B/R models and looks forward to an incredibly rewarding tour with the Honey Badgers.
 
Senior Chief Santini’s decorations include the Air Medal (Individual Action), Navy Commendation Medal (six), Navy Achievement Medal (three), Navy Unit Commendation, Meritorious Unit Commendation (two), Good Conduct Medal (six), Humanitarian Service Medal (two), Military Outstanding Volunteer Service Medal (two), as well as earning numerous campaign awards throughout his career.

Last Updated: 9 May 2022