The Tactical Engineer Development Program at Naval Air Warfare Center Weapons Division commemorated its fourth graduating class of 24 during a Dec. 11 ceremony at China Lake.

NAWCWD’s homegrown program aims to develop a workforce that is competent in the basics of naval air warfare and aware of the major warfare issues at hand through academic instruction, hands-on training and direct exposure to active and retired military personnel. Upon completion of TEDP, graduates will be able to provide an operationally-relevant technical perspective and possess a thorough understanding of the warfighter’s objectives, operations, environment and missions.

“I think a course like this is valuable,” said Rear Adm. Scott Dillon, NAWCWD commander and graduation keynote speaker. “Critical thinking means different things to different people, but it’s experiences such as TEDP that allow you to broaden your horizon and open up your approach to problem solving. You’re going to bring very valuable experiences back with you and you’re in a strong position to spread the knowledge that you gained in this class to the other people that you work with.”

The 2018 TEDP graduates from China Lake and Point Mugu are: Laura Arns, David Belasco, Nolan Budd, Darcy Dewar, Ryan Duncan, Derek Fitchett, Matthew Gerner, Joshua Gore, Suzanne Gysler, Andrew Hendricks, Will Josephson, Christopher Kajiwara, Sam Lockwood, Lauren Merriman, Andrew Miroglio, Radley Obligacion, Daniel Omoto, Megan Richter, Jennifer Schroeder, Sabrina Simmons, Maureen Strazi, Nicholas Sullivan, Gavin Swanson and Mary Whitney

“I’d like to thank you for your attendance, attention and perseverance,” said Ian Anderson, TEDP lead. “It was obvious to the guest instructors that NAWCWD and naval aviation are blessed with a very talented, motivated and intelligent workforce. The military instructors left with a better appreciation of and confidence in the team that develops and tests the systems they bet their lives on every time they launch.”