By Bailey Toombs
NAVAIR Public Affairs Office

Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Md., welcomed its new Vice Commander, Rear Adm. Steven L. Enewold, Aug. 7. Enewold replaces Rear Adm. Michael Bachmann who is now Commander, Space and Naval Warfare Systems Command, San Diego, Calif.

As Vice Commander, Enewold is responsible for the day-to-day operations of approximately 25,000 civilian and military members across NAVAIR. Most recently, Enewold served as Program Executive Officer for Joint Strike Fighter under the Office of the Secretary of Defense in Washington, D.C. Within NAVAIR, he has served as director, Air Vehicle Division, Program Manager for the EA-6B program (PMA-234) and Program Executive Officer for Air ASW, Assault and Special Mission Programs (PEO-A).

“I’m looking forward to getting out to all our sites and visiting as many of our workforce as possible,” said Enewold. “NAVAIR has turned the corner with AIRSpeed and I’m honored to be part of this organization as we forge ahead providing cost-wise readiness and dominant maritime combat power to make an already great Navy/Marine Corps team even better.”

“NAVAIR is setting the pace for the rest of the Navy when it comes to transformation and is fully engaged and aligned with the CNO’s mission to create more readiness and assets within our budget using Lean/Six Sigma,” he added. “I am confident that in this position, I can help promote even more productivity improvements.”

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 “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.

-USN-