CDR Courtney “Stiles” Herdt, USN
CDR Courtney “Stiles” Herdt of Florence, South Carolina, graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy and was commissioned an Ensign in May 2002. He reported to Pensacola, Florida for flight training and was designated a naval aviator in May 2004.
He reported to his first sea tour with Helicopter Anti-Submarine Squadron Light (HSL) 42 in Mayport, Florida in 2005. During this tour, he held positions as detachment training officer, detachment maintenance officer, and squadron quality assurance officer. He served onboard USS James E. Williams (DDG 95) off the Horn of Africa and throughout the 5th Fleet area of operations. Additionally, he served onboard USS Carr (FFG 50) with the USS Kearsarge ESG in support of the MEF and oil platform defense in the CENTCOM area of operations.
In July of 2008, CDR Herdt was selected as a flag lieutenant for the re-establishment of 4th Fleet. His tour took him to 18 countries where he was instrumental in supporting the commander while fostering diplomacy, supporting military engagements, and furthering interagency cooperation throughout the Western Hemisphere. He then returned to HSL-40 as an SH-60B flight instructor. During this tour, he served as legal officer and chief flight instructor, managing instructor standardization for both the SH-60B and MH-60R. After instructor duty, Herdt served at Isa Air Force Base, Bahrain in 2012 where he augmented a Navy staff on a joint expeditionary base.
In April of 2013, he returned to Mayport, Florida as an aviation department head at Helicopter Maritime Strike Squadron (HSM) 46, where he qualified in the MH-60R. He led a detachment in USS Halyburton (FFG 40), executing the counter transnational organized crime mission. While at HSM-46 he served as squadron operations officer, directing and managing five forward-deployed detachments in the execution of over 6500 flight hours.
CDR Herdt served at United States European Command (EUCOM) as a joint political-military officer. His primary responsibility during his tour was to ensure basing, access, and overflight permissions from Western European countries in support of EUCOM, AFRICOM, CENTCOM, and NATO. He then reported to HSM-40 in October 2019 as the executive officer, meeting CNATRA production milestones and advancing community goals and lethality.
He reported to CSIS and USNI as a Federal Executive Fellow after his successful command tour, leading the world famous Swamp Foxes of HSM-74 through two deployments as part of Carrier Air Wing THREE and the Eisenhower Carrier Strike Group. His team operated on five different vessels, disaggregated across the CENTCOM and EUCOM areas of responsibility.
He earned a Bachelor of Science in Oceanography and Meteorology and holds a Master of Science degree from the University of Arkansas. Commander Herdt’s personal awards include the Defense Meritorious Service Medal, Meritorious Service Medal, Air Medal (Individual), Navy and Marine Commendation Medal (four awards), Joint Achievement Medal, Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal and various unit commendations, service, and other campaign awards.