CHINA LAKE, Calif. – After 27 years of naval service, Capt. Richard A. Burr, who served as vice commander of Naval Air Warfare Center Weapons Division (NAWCWD) in 2010 and 2011, retired July 29. Burr will continue to support NAWCWD in his new position as the director of Acquisition Operations at Point Mugu, Calif.

Burr was designated a naval aviator in July 1990 and flew the A-6E Intruder in Attack Squadrons 42 and 36 from Naval Air Station, Oceana, Va., and on board USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN 71), participating in combat operations “Deny Flight” and “Southern Watch.”

Burr joined the Black Aces of VF-41 for a second Mediterranean deployment on board the USS Roosevelt where he was honored as VF-41 Fighter Pilot of the Year.

After a year of training at the U.S. Naval Test Pilot School, he reported to the Naval Weapons Test Squadron, Point Mugu, as the PMA-258 Standoff Land Attack Missile Expanded Response Technical Project Manager. While attached, Burr was selected as Test Pilot of the Year. He returned to the fleet as a department head for VF-211, flying F-14 Tomcats from the USS John C. Stennis (CVN 74) during combat operations in Iraq.

Burr served as flag aide to Vice Adm. Michael Malone, commander of Naval Air Forces Atlantic/Pacific, then joined Air Test and Evaluation squadron (VX) 31 as the PMA-201 Joint Standoff Weapon (JSOW) deputy technical project manager at China Lake, Calif. He later served as the VX-30 commanding officer and chief test pilot from July 2004 to July 2007 at Point Mugu. From there, Burr served as a deputy program manager at PMA-273 Naval Undergraduate Flight Training Systems at Patuxent River, Md. He became military director of the Weapons and Energetics department at China Lake before finishing his tour as NAWCWD vice commander under Rear Adm. Mat Winter.

A native of Detroit, Mich., Burr graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy in 1988 with a Bachelor of Science degree in physics. He received his Master of Science Degree in Aviation Systems from the University of Tennessee in 2000, and completed Joint Professional Military Education from the Naval War College in 2006. He has logged over 3500 flight hours, 500 carrier arrestments and has flown combat operations over Bosnia, Serbia, and Iraq.

Summing up his naval career, Burr recounted 27 years in the company of friends and shipmates who worked with him, bound by a common purpose and camaraderie. Burr stated, “It’s been a ride of a lifetime, but it’s time to move on.”