Before leaving West Chester for the Navy, Ryan Litchert fought fire.

Now, he fights firepower as a pilot of the Navy’s most elite submarine hunter and warfare helicopter.

“It took a year and a half of hard work, but I finally got my wings and became a member of a fraternity of professional Naval aviators,” Litchert said in a Daily Local News report. “That’s been my biggest accomplishment to date.”

The lieutenant junior grade now flies the Navy’s MH-60R Seahawk for Helicopter Maritime Strike Squadron 40 in Florida.

The West Chester native arrived in that Seahawk cockpit through a Devon Prep education, graduating with the Class of 2011, and experience in critical emergency situations with the First West Chester Fire Co.

“They taught me how to be a leader and make good decisions under pressure. Those skills are invaluable as a Navy pilot,” Litchert said.

Read more of the local success story featuring Navy helicopter pilot Ryan Litchert in the Daily Local News here.