Happy New Year!
Volume 69, Number 1
Naval Air Station Patuxent River, Maryland
News Briefs Electrical outage scheduled
There is an electrical outage scheduled for Jan. 7, 7 a.m. – 4 p.m. The following buildings will be affected: 109, 109A, 3254, 164, 2368, 1484, 177, 1383, 2244, 2243, 3700, 1583, 1483, 2880, and 527. For information call David Dement, Public Works Utilities at 202-439-7083.
Martin Luther King, Jr. day service
On Jan. 11, 11a.m. - noon, the NAS Patuxent River Chaplain’s Office, in conjunction with the NAWCAD Equal Employment Opportunity Office, will host the annual Martin Luther King, Jr. Service of Remembrance at St. Nicholas Chapel to celebrate the full depth of Dr. King’s faith, vision, freedom and peace for all Americans. This event is open to all employees. Please plan to arrive early to guarantee seating. For more information, please contact Lt. Kenneth Amador, Chaplain’s Office at 301-342-3811. To request special accommodation, please contact Johnny Clark, NAWCAD EEO Office at 301-995-4328; for sign language interpreting services, please email interpreting services@navy.mil. Military dress code for this event is Service Dress Blues for speakers and Uniform of the Day for all other attendees.
Munitions Response Site Prioritization
The Naval Facilities Engineering Command, Washington, is setting priorities for investigating a number of munitions sites on NAS Patuxent River and Webster Field, as well as former water ranges in the Patuxent River and Chesapeake Bay that were associated with NAS Patuxent River and NRC Solomons. For questions about the munitions response or environmental cleanup programs at NAS Patuxent River, please contact: Gary Younger, Public Affairs Officer at 301-757-6478 or gary.younger@navy.mil.
See News, Page 4
CFC update Pax River employees did it once again in 2011. Combined Federal Campaign Chair Doreen Talbott announced a total collected thus far of $579,400, exceeding last year's total collection of $527,000. CFC volunteers are finishing up tallying the final collection dropoff, and will announce the 2011 total in next week's Tester.Way to go Pax Pros, for a job well done!
January 5, 2012
Reagan uses warfighting skills for disaster relief By Andrea Watters NAVAIR Corporate Communication The Ronald Reagan Strike Group adapted warfighter training and experience to provide disaster relief to the Japanese during Operation Tomodachi, the NAVAIR workforce learned Dec. 13. Capt. Steve Baxter, Carrier Strike Group 7 chief of staff, shared the unclassified details of USS Ronald Reagan's (CVN 76) seven-month deployment during the sixth Meet the Fleet event at Naval Air Station Patuxent River.The fleet postdeployment debriefs serve as
part of NAVAIR Commander Vice Adm. David Architzel's initiative to strengthen the command's connection to the warfighter. "These are incredible opportunities to hear the details at the deckplate of what goes on behind the world events you may hear about in the news on television or read about," said Kal Leikach, deputy commander, NAVAIR, who opened the event. Reagan CSG ships were the first on the scene off the coast of Japan after a magniU.S. Navy photo tude-9.0 earthquake and Capt. Steve Baxter, Carrier Strike Group 7 chief of tsunami struck March 11,
staff, takes questions from the audience after debriefing the NAVAIR workforce on the Ronald ReaSee Reagan, Page 2 gan Strike Group's role in Operation Tomodachi.
Marine colonel leads Naval Test Wing Atlantic By Paula Paige NAWCAD Public Affairs Punctuated with 15 booming volleys from a cannon and a saxophonist's emotionally touching version of the national anthem, Marine Corps Col. Roger Cordell replaced Navy Capt. Thomas Huff as commander of Naval Test Wing Atlantic in a change of command and re-
tirement ceremony at the Naval Test Pilot School's hangar Dec. 21. "The world of flight testing is hard and unforgiving , the fiscal landscape is a challenge, but developmental testing is critical to our brothers and sisters in arms," said Cordell as he accepted the reins of leadership from Huff, who retired after nearly 27 years of military service. "I'm taking command of a wing postured for success. I look forward to
working with you." Born and raised in Lafayette, La., Cordell has more than 20 years of naval aviation experience, with many of his assignments served here at Patuxent River. Those assignments include a yearlong stint as director of training and evaluation for F-35 Naval Variants on the
See Huff, Page 7
U.S. Naval Test Pilot School class 140 graduation By Rich Harris USNTPS Public Liaison The U.S. Naval Test Pilot School held graduation ceremonies for Class 140 at the River’s Edge Catering and Conference Center on Dec. 16. Thirty-four students successfully completed an intense, 10-month course of instruction and were designated as test pilots, test naval flight officers and test engineers. Nick Lappos, a Sikorsky Aircraft Senior Technical Fellow for Advanced Technology and former helicopter test pilot, was the guest speaker. Lappos was awarded the
Bronze Star and the Republic of Vietnam's Cross of Gallantry while piloting Cobra attack helicopters in Vietnam. He has been a test pilot for more than 30 years, accumulating more than 7500 flight hours. In 1988 he was awarded the Society of ExperimentalTest Pilots Tenhoff Award. Lappos holds 17 U.S. patents and three Fédération Aéronautique Internationale world speed records. He has authored numerous technical papers for the American Helicopter Society, the Royal Aeronautical Society and the SAE, has written articles for magazines such as "Rotor
See School, Page 6
US Navy Photo by Liz Wolter