Captain Ryan C. Hayes, (USN Retired)
Former Executive Officer, Maritime Operations Center
U.S. Third Fleet
U.S. Navy
Captain Ryan “Gassy” Hayes was born in Pensacola, Florida, and raised in Virginia Beach, Virginia. He commissioned in July 1999 through Officer Candidate School and was designated as a Naval Aviator in November 2000.
After Fleet Replacement Training at Helicopter Anti-Submarine Squadron TEN (HS-10), his first fleet assignment was with HS-15 where he served as Legal Officer, Public Affairs Officer, Assistant Operations Officer, and Safety Department Head. He completed FIFTH Fleet deployments aboard USS GEORGE WASHINGTON (CVN-73) and USS JOHN F. KENNEDY (CV-67) in support of Operations ENDURING FREEDOM, IRAQI FREEDOM and SOUTHERN WATCH, including a combat detachment in direct support of Navy and Marine Corps Special Operations Forces operating in southern Iraq. He received a Commander, Naval Air Forces Atlantic, Navy and Marine Corps Association Leadership Award and was selected as the 2004 Naval Helicopter Association (NHA) Pilot of the Year.
Captain Hayes reported to Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron THREE (HSC-3) for instructor duty in the MH-60S helicopter and served as an Assistant Operations Officer, Maintenance Manpower Officer, and Safety Department Head. His next assignment was to Carrier Air Wing FOURTEEN (CVW-14) staff as the Helicopter Operations and Assistant Operations Officer. He completed two combat deployments aboard USS RONALD REAGAN (CVN-76) to SEVENTH and FIFTH Fleet in support of Operation ENDURING FREEDOM and earned his CDO Underway qualification.
As a Department Head, he served as Administrative and Personnel Officer, Detachment Officer-in-Charge, and Operations Officer at HS-14, a squadron forward deployed to NAF Atsugi, Japan. He conducted multiple deployments aboard USS GEORGE WASHINGTON (CVN-73) to SEVENTH Fleet. He led the squadron’s Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief (HADR) response during Operation TOMOADCHI following a devastating 9.0 earthquake and ensuing tsunami off the Japanese coast on March 11th, 2011.
Captain Hayes reported to Commander, Naval Air Forces Pacific, as the Chief of Naval Operations’ Naval Aviation Training and Operating Procedures Standardization (NATOPS) Program Administrator. He was the program manager for the Navy’s Aviation Safety Awareness Program (ASAP) and Military Flight Operations Quality Assurance (MFOQA), leveraging commercial-off-the-shelf technology to improve human factors and mitigate risks through data analytics.
Captain Hayes completed command tours at HSC-15 as the Executive Officer and at HSC-4 as the Executive Officer and Commanding Officer. Qualifying as a Maritime Rotary Wing Mission Commander, he led the squadron during two WESTPAC deployments embarked on USS CARL VINSON (CVN 70) and numerous detachments ashore. Following his command tour, he was selected as a Secretary of the Navy Tours with Industry Fellow and assigned to VMware, Inc. as a project manager in Research and Development Operations.
He led Carrier Strike Group SEVEN staff as the Chief of Staff until the unit’s deactivation while simultaneously filling the role as the Deputy Director of Operations for Commander, U.S. Third Fleet. He is currently the Executive Officer of the U.S. Third Fleet Maritime Operations Center. His portfolio includes Maritime Homeland Defense, Defense Support of Civil Authorities, and operational management of a Fleet comprised of 75 warships, 20 submarines, 400 aircraft, and over 65,000 active duty military personnel.
He is a graduate of the Navy’s Seahawk Weapons and Tactics Instructor (WTI) course and Joint Professional Military Education (JPME) Phase I through the U.S. Marine Corps Command and Staff College. He holds a B.S. in Biology from Hampden-Sydney College, an M.S. in Global Leadership from the University of San Diego’s Knauss School of Business, and he is an MBA candidate at the UCLA Anderson School of Management.
Captain Hayes’ personal awards include the Meritorious Service Medal, Navy Commendation Medal (6 awards), Navy Achievement Medal, Strike/Flight Air Medal (3 awards), and various campaign and unit level awards. He has accumulated over 3,400 mishap-free flight hours in Navy aircraft.