On Friday, October 22, 2010 Vice Admiral (VADM) W. Mark Skinner, principal military deputy to the Assistant Secretary of the Navy (Research, Development and Acquisitions) and Rear Admiral (RDML) Randolph Mahr, Commander, Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division (NAWCAD), along with members o f their respective staffs, made separate visits to the Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR) facilities at Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst (JB MDL) in Lakehurst, NJ.

Accompanied by Captain (CAPT) EJ Hendrickson, CAPT James Donnelly and Commander (CDR) Russ McCormack, VADM Skinner received briefings and tours to update them on the progress of both the Electromagnetic Aircraft Launch System (EMALS) and Advanced Arresting Gear (AAG) that are installed at Lakehurst’s test facilities and will soon begin testing aircraft in preparation for deployment of these state of the art launch and recovery systems onboard CVN 78, the USS Gerald Ford, the next aircraft carrier scheduled for commissioning in 2015.

On a separate visit, RDML Randolph Mahr, along with CAPT William Gilligan, Command Master Chief (CMDCM) David Armer and Mr. Jerome Budnick visited Lakehurst for the first time since being promoted to admiral and assuming command of NAWCAD. RDML Mahr and his staff received a series of orientation briefings and tours to better familiarize them with the myriad of functions and missions performed at Lakehurst. Included in the visit were meetings with the NAVAIR Lakehurst Executive Leadership Council and one with Support Equipment and Aircraft Launch and Recovery (SE and ALRE) division chiefs. Several engineering labs were visited, along with a tour of the NAVAIR airship housed in Hangar Six and a visit to the EMALS site.

According to Ms. Kathleen Donnelly, Senior Executive Service (SES) Director of SE and ALRE at Lakehurst and host for the two flag officer visits, “having both VADM Skinner and RDML Mahr here at Lakehurst this past Friday gave us a great opportunity to showcase the dedication of our engineers, scientists, artisans and staff who work so diligently to support naval aviation. Launching, recovering and maintaining aircraft from ships at sea is a critical mission of the United States Navy, and could not be done successfully without the talent and expertise of our folks here at Lakehurst. The visit by the two admirals goes a long way toward showing our folks how important their roles are in supporting the fleet.”

With the importance of a timely and successful deployment of EMALS and AAG technology onboard the carrier fleet, VADM Skinner and RDML Mahr can be expected to become regular visitors to Lakehurst in the coming years for periodic updates on the progress of both programs.