NAVAL AIR WARFARE CENTER AIRCRAFT DIVISION, PATUXENT RIVER, Md.–U.S. Army Redstone Test Center (RTC) commander, Col. Joseph Alexander, recently spent two days at Naval Air Station Patuxent River, Maryland, flying with U.S. Naval Test Wing Atlantic (NTWL) aviators.
During the visit, Alexander familiarized himself with NTWL and its U.S. Naval Test Pilot School (USNTPS) for first-hand perspective on Naval Aviation and the capabilities of naval aviators.
“This visit gave us a fantastic opportunity to showcase the interoperability of Navy and Army aviation,” said Capt. Elizabeth Somerville, NTWL commodore. “In an ever-increasing world of joint and coalition warfare, it is critical that we communicate and understand our mission partner’s capabilities–I am incredibly thankful to Col. Alexander for his time and proud of what our team was able to provide him with.”
In addition to learning about NTWL and its mission, Alexander’s visit helped familiarize him with the next group of Army test pilots who are training at USNTPS, the Army’s dedicated test pilot school.
“NTWL and USNTPS are incredibly well-led organizations intensely focused on producing the best Army, Navy, and foreign military testing professionals,” said Alexander. “With an unmatched history of producing military aviation and space professionals, this trip reinforced the academic and technical rigor these exceptional U.S. and foreign military specialists receive–I have tremendous respect for the command and the brilliant graduates of this elite school, many who will join RTC upon graduation.”
Alexander assumed command of the RTC in March of this year.
Naval Test Wing Atlantic, a component of Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division (NAWCAD), supports the test and evaluation of the Navy’s principal aviation systems, ranging from unmanned to rotary- and fixed-wing aircraft.
The Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division employs more than 17,000 military, civilian and contract personnel. It operates test ranges, laboratories and aircraft in support of test, evaluation, research, development and sustainment of everything flown by the Navy and Marine Corps. Based in Patuxent River, Maryland, the command also has major sites in St. Inigoes, Maryland, Lakehurst, New Jersey, and Orlando, Florida.
For more information about NAWCAD, visit www.navair.navy.mil, or follow us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/MyNAWCAD.
