NAVAIR’s New Commander Shares His Vision With the Community

With the fiscal cliff and sequestration roadblock ahead, NAVAIR’s new commander still sees a bright future for Pax River and Naval aviation. Vice Admiral David Dunaway in a comprehensive speech Thursday at a Patuxent Partnership briefing laid out his short-term and long-term visions for the Naval Air Systems Command.

Dunaway predicted little effect on his organization if the country does fall off the fiscal cliff on January 1. He predicted no layoffs and if there is any reduction in force it will be through attrition.

Dunaway said the stability in the face of fiscal challenges is related to what Naval aviation does “Naval aviation is the 911 of the Department of Defense,” he explained, noting that they are the first on the scene in war zones.

“I want to make sure we continue the great success that we have had in the past,” he said. But he also predicted change and said he embraced it as a fact of life. He is just not sure what that change will look like five or ten years from now, as no one really can. The best that can be done, he said, is plan for the most likely scenario and be flexible enough to shift in midstream if that is required.

Dunaway is no stranger to Pax River, having graduated from Class 96 at the U.S. Naval Test Pilot School in 1989. His career includes a stint as commander of Naval Air Warfare Center (Weapons Division) at China Lake. Most recently he was commander of Operation Test and Evaluation Force in Norfolk.

Dunaway obviously likes St. Mary’s County. He said where else can you combine deer hunting, rockfishing and flying. He pointed out the tremendous changes in the community since his first drive down Route 235. “We live in a very blessed community,” he said.

The commander praised the cooperation between NAVAIR and the community and committed himself to its continuance. “I believe we have one of the greatest accepting communities that I have ever seen,” he boasted.

Part of the success of that cooperation he credited to the STEM program in the county’s schools. He quipped, “We have the school system, Starbucks and golf.”

Later in the talk he said one of his main focuses will be on workforce development. “The technology really doesn’t matter. It is going to change. What matters is the people.” The evening before the St. Mary’s County Public Schools announced a $250,000 Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division grant to establish a National Flight Academy which will be a part of the STEM program.

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