Clark takes over as head of NAVAIR Ranges

Date: 26-Mar-08
News Release Number: ECL200803261
By Renee Hatcher NAWCWD Public Affairs

Terry Clark, the new director of NAVAIR Ranges, plans to spend at least one day a week at China Lake.Photo by Renee Hatcher.

In February, the assistant secretary of the Navy approved Terry Clark's reassignment to AIR-5.2 as the director of NAVAIR Ranges.

"The NAVAIR Ranges Department is a great example of a cohesive, national organization and I'm proud to be a part of it," Clark said. "I consider myself very lucky to have inherited from Steve Mendonca this organization that is already working quite well."

Clark said he doesn't have any revolutionary changes planned but hopes the range employees and customers will notice some positive changes.

"Our folks are doing an amazing job supporting the customers," he said, "but I have a sense that we can do even better as we evolve toward a range complex as a single entity whose individual parts are transparent to the customer."

As director of NAVAIR Ranges, Clark is responsible for development, maintenance, and safe and effective operation of NAVAIR's major air, land and sea test ranges on the east and west coasts. The land range at China Lake is 1.1 million acres, and the sea range at Point Mugu is 36,000 square miles. The Atlantic Test Range at Patuxent River manages 2,100 square miles of the Chesapeake Test range. By scheduling the Atlantic offshore warning areas, it can be expanded to more than 50,000 square miles. Range work on the west coast is focused on weapons and weapons systems testing, while the east coast range mainly deals with flight quality performance testing, and support to the U.S. Naval Test Pilot School. Clark is also responsible for the Air Vehicle Modification Instrumentation (AVMI) group, headquartered at Pax with employees on both coasts. The AVMI group instruments the weapons and aircraft for test.

"Our focus on the ranges is to provide decision-quality data," said Clark, who was the Range Operations division head in the late ‘90s. "We make sure customers have the ability to make quality decisions for their programs based on test events conducted on our ranges."

Clark, originally from Shelton, Wash., brings more than 30 years of experience to the job. After earning a bachelor's degree in electronics engineering from Washington State University, he began his career at the McClellan Air Force Base in 1977. Three years later he took a job developing instrumentation test software at the then Pacific Missile Test Center at Point Mugu, Calif. He's been with the Navy, NAWCWD and NAVAIR ever since working in various positions in support of the EA-6B program, the Missile Systems Evaluation Branch, Electronic Warfare, the Systems Engineering Department, and the Pacific Ranges and Facilities.

After being selected for promotion to the Senior Executive Service in 1998, Clark was appointed as head of the NAWCWD Avionics Department. Prior to his current position, Clark was the director of Software Engineering for NAVAIR, and was responsible for directing all software efforts within the command. He also served as the principal advisor to NAVAIR leadership on software matters.

"I've been blessed with some really great positions," Clark said. "This one is really exciting as the issues that will come across my plate will have near-term effects for the warfighter. Thankfully, I have a lot of great people supporting me doing great work."

As a national team leader responsible for east and west coast locations, travel is a must for Clark to stay accessible to the 1,700 employees of the NAVAIR Ranges and plugged into the issues at each site. He will remain based at Point Mugu and expects to get to China Lake once a week, with weeklong trips planned to Pax River each month.

"I don't have an agenda that's site-specific," said Clark, who describes his leadership as trustworthy and approachable. "We have a lot of jobs to do and a lot of customers to support; we need to focus on that and do the best job we can."

Another priority for Clark is to encourage a balanced life throughout the work force.

"It's important for me to have balance in my life, and I want people who work with me to have balance in their lives too," he said. "I have two teenage kids who don't care what my position at NAVAIR is; they just want their dad to be their dad when I'm at home."

Clark and his wife, Patricia, live in Ventura with their two children, Anyssa and Eric.

"Right now, my main hobby is taking my kids to their hobbies," Clark said. His daughter plays competitive volleyball, and his son is very interested in the arts. A once enthusiastic scuba diver, Clark said he just doesn't have time to stay proficient and safe enough to enjoy it right now.

Maybe sometime in the future he will make time for diving again but for now, he is content with leading the NAVAIR Ranges, getting home in time to give his wife a hand with household chores, and remembering what he learned about geometry and trigonometry to helps his kids with their homework.

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