By Vicky Falcón
NAVAIR Public Affairs Office

Though Rear Admiral Steven L. Enewold, Vice Commander of the Naval Air Systems Command, will end his 35 year Navy career on September 26, his legacy will live on indefinitely through the NAVAIR leaders he has taught and mentored.

Enewold, a native of Denver, Colo., took over as Vice Commander in August 2006. Within NAVAIR he has served as Program Executive Officer for the Joint Strike Fighter Program Office; Director, Air Vehicle Division; Program Manager for the EA-6B (PMA-234); and Program Executive Officer for Air ASW, Assault and Special Mission Programs (PEO-A).

Enewold also taught at the Naval Test Pilot School at Patuxent River from 1988 -1991. “More than half of the military program managers within NAVAIR are my former students,” he said. “I’m proud of the synergy we have here in our program team.”

Capt. Barbara Bell, Program Manager for Air Traffic Control and Combat Identification Systems (PMA-231), is part of that team.

“Rear Adm. Enewold has always been people focused. His call sign, ‘Smiley,’ captures the essence of his character,” she said. “He is continually engaged in coaching, mentoring and, most importantly, empowering the people who work for him. He has been my mentor for years,” she continued, “and taught me that program managers do not manage programs, rather, they manage people who manage programs. When you take care of the people, they take care of the work and the job gets done.”

Capt. Ralph Portnoy, co-lead of the Total Force Strategy and Management Department (AIR-7.3), has known Enewold since test pilot school in 1991.

“What I learned way back then and I still see today is that Rear Adm. Enewold is a true people person whose caring and easy-going manner puts people at ease right away,” said Portnoy. “I think his willingness to tackle big jobs as the Vice Commander is complimented and enabled because he works so well with people. He seeks to include his people in the discussion, listens to dissenting opinions, considers options available, remembers the goal or target and then makes an informed decision.”

Capt. Mat Winter, Program Manager for the Precision Strike Weapons Program Office (PMA-201), knows Enewold as a true leader, mentor and friend.

“He combines the right mix of authority and camaraderie to bring out the absolute best in each person he touches,” said Winter. “He has had a profound impact on me personally and professionally through his bold leadership examples and constructive mentoring influence.”

“This job has been much different than anything I’ve done before,” Enewold said of his most recent tour within NAVAIR. “As a program manager I focused on a product, but in the command office, I focused on the people and facilities of the organization.”

According to Enewold, the people that make up NAVAIR are a unique and scarce commodity.

“I’ve been highly focused on how much work our people are doing right now and the increasing demands on them down the road,” he explained. “We want to make sure that the right people are assigned to the right programs at the right time.”

One of his concerns over the past year has been the decreasing amount of military billets within NAVAIR programs.

“Vice Adm. Venlet and I have been talking to Naval personnel about how to fill those billets,” said Enewold. “Having lieutenants and lieutenant commanders involved in the development of a program is a real benefit to the Fleet because it inserts their customer expectations early.”

Another area Enewold has been focused on during the last year is the implementation of Navy ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning).

“One of my regrets is that I won’t be around to see ERP finally implemented,” he said. “We’ve made great progress, but there is still a lot of work to be done.” According to Enewold, the next three or four months of transition will require double the effort for business and financial managers as they keep both the old and new systems running.

Enewold is looking forward to change, though, as he seeks employment within the aeronautical community.

“I was spoiled as the program manager for JSF (Joint Strike Fighter),” he said. “I’m really looking forward to building something again.”

Rear Adm.(s) William Shannon, NAVAIR’s Assistant Commander for Logistics and Industrial Operations, will assume the duties of Vice Commander on October 1.

“My wish for Rear Adm. Shannon is that the people in this organization will support him the same way they’ve been supportive of me,” said Enewold.

Enewold was commissioned as an officer following his graduation from the University of New Mexico and its Naval Reserve Officer Training program in 1972. By June 1974, he received his Masters of Science in Aeronautical Systems from the University of Florida and shortly thereafter, received his “Wings of Gold” at Training Squadron Four.

Operational training began for Enewold in January 1975 at Whidbey Island, Wash., where he won his first Air Wing “Top Ten” Tailhook, among other awards. He then served with VA-128 as an A-6 instructor pilot and served as the AIRPAC NATOPS Model Manager and lead instructor for the Familiarization, Weapons, and Tactics training phases.

In December 1983, Enewold graduated from Air Force Test Pilot School at Edwards AFB as Class Leader of Class 83A. He continued on to the A-6 Weapon System Support Activity in China Lake, Calif. and then to his third operational A-6 tour on USS Midway home-ported in Japan.

From June 1991 to August 1999, Enewold held several positions at NAVAIR. In 2000, he completed a one-year assignment in the Secretary of Defense Corporate Fellowship Program where he was assigned to Lockheed Martin Mission Systems in Gaithersburg, Md.

He served as Program Executive Officer for Air ASW, Assault and Special Mission Programs (PEO-A) from December 2000 until January 2002 when he became the Deputy Program Executive Officer, Joint Strike Fighter. He took over as Program Executive Officer, Joint Strike Fighter, in June 2004 and was promoted to Rear Admiral Upper Half in September 2004.

His personal decorations include the Defense Distinguished Service, Defense Superior Service, Legion of Merit, Meritorious Service Medal, Navy Commendation Medal and Navy Achievement Medal. He has flown over 4,800 flight hours in more than fifty types of aircraft.