Rear Adm. Jeffrey Penfield assumed the duties of Commander, Fleet Readiness Centers (COMFRC) at Naval Air Station (NAS) Patuxent River on Nov. 7.
Penfield welcomes the opportunity to lead the COMFRC team.
“Taking command of our FRC’s is an incredible opportunity, especially in these fiscally-challenging times,” said Penfield. “Our mission here is a critical and essential component in sustaining our warfighter capabilities, and I look forward to being a part of the ongoing collaboration between NAVAIR and Naval Air Forces.”
To better serve the aviation community and optimize existing industrial and depot maintenance capabilities, COMFRC continues to streamline their related processes and reduce their costs, while improving quality of products and service. Thanks primarily to numerous continuous improvement initiatives the command has been able to identify more than $1 billion in cumulative cost avoidance. As for productivity, in fiscal year 2010 alone, the Fleet Readiness Centers completed maintenance, repair and overhaul on 551 aircraft, 5,454 engines and engine modules, 248,353 aircraft component parts, and over 13,400 support equipment end units.
With facilities located throughout the United States and in Japan, COMFRC has also supported the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, through hundreds of in-service repairs by their forward-deployed artisans.
Penfield is no stranger to NAVAIR or NAS Patuxent River; his previous assignment was on the Naval Air Systems Command staff working integration and interoperability initiatives since Feb 2011. His earlier NAVAIR assignments include the F/A-18 and EA-18G Program Office (PMA-265); command of the Air-to-Air Missile Systems Program Office (PMA-259); as well as the Navy Unmanned Combat Air System Program Office (PMA-268).
Penfield was commissioned in October 1982 via the Aviation Officer Candidate Program and earned his Navy Wings of Gold in June 1984. An F/A-18 pilot with over 4,000 flight hours and 750 carrier landings, his operational assignments include Strike Fighter Squadron 136 as a plankowner; Strike Fighter Squadron 94; and command of Strike Fighter Squadron 115, during which he deployed on the maiden F/A-18E Super Hornet cruise participating in Operation Enduring Freedom, Operation Southern Watch and the initial combat phase of Operation Iraqi Freedom.
Penfield’s shore tour assignments include Training Squadron 23; Air Test and Evaluation Squadron Five; the Super Hornet Fleet Introduction Team; and Air Test and Evaluation Nine, where he was the lead operational test director for the F/A-18E/F operational evaluation.
Penfield was recognized as the 1995 Commander, Naval Air Force Pacific Fleet Pilot of the Year and the National Defense Industrial Association Navy Military Tester of the Year for 1999.
