CMDCS (SW/NAC/AW) John L. Gagnon

Command Senior Chief, USNS Comfort

01 August 2022 Senior Chief John Gagnon is a native of Gorham, Maine and enlisted in the Navy in October 2000. Following completion of Recruit Training Command Great Lakes, he attended Naval Aircrewman Candidate School, Aviation Rescue Swimmer School and Anti-submarine Warfare Operator (AW) "A" school at Naval Aviation Training Command Pensacola, Florida, followed by Fleet Replacement Aircrew training (FRAC) at Helicopter Anti-submarine Squadron (HS) 10, NAS Coronado,  Gagnon’s first sea tour was with the "Tridents" of  Helicopter Anti-submarine Squadron (HS) 3, NAS Jacksonville, as a rescue swimmer and sensor operator in the SH-60F and HH-60H helicopter where he was advanced to Second Class Petty Officer and deployed to the 5th Fleet area of responsibility (AOR) onboard the USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN 71).

Following Sea Duty, he received orders to Aviation Survival Training Center (ASTC) Jacksonville, Florida in 2007, as a Naval Aviation Water Survival Training Instructor where he earned his Master Training Specialist Qualification.

In 2010 he was selected to qualify in the MH-60R and received follow on orders to the "Spartans" of Helicopter Maritime Strike Squadron (HSM) 70 to deploy in the first east coast HSM squadron onboard the USS George H. W. Bush (CVN 77), deploying twice to the 5th fleet AOR and promoting to First Class Petty Officer. He was then transferred to instructor duty at the "Airwolves" of HSM-40, Mayport, Florida, as an FRS instructor and was promoted to Chief Petty Officer in 2015.

In 2017 he checked in to the "Proud Warriors" of  HSM-72 as the Operations Leading Chief Petty Officer and deployed to the Arctic and North Sea executing the 2018 inaugural Dynamic Force Employment (DFE) deployment onboard the USS Harry S. Truman (CVN 75) and in 2018 he was promoted to Senior Chief. In 2019 he reported as the Command Senior Enlisted Leader (CSEL) at Helicopter Maritime Strike Weapons School Atlantic "Talons." In 2023 he was selected for the Command Senior Chief Program and currently assigned to the USNS Comfort (T-AH 20) in Norfolk Virginia.   Gagnon is a graduate of the U.S. Navy Senior Enlisted Academy (Class 222/Green).  His personal awards include the Navy and Marine Corps

Commendation Medal (three awards), Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal (four awards) and various unit and campaign awards.