Capt. Braulio "Leo" Paiz disestablished Naval Computer and Telecommunications Station Jacksonville and was relieved of his commanding officer responsibilities during a change of command/disestablishment ceremony, Dec. 8.

Lt. Cmdr. Stephanie Smith assumed the leadership role as officer in charge of the remaining unit, which was stood up as a detachment under Naval Computer and Telecommunications Area Master Station Atlantic.

"It is a true honor to turn over the leadership role to Lt. Cmdr. Stephanie Smith, someone I truly respect," said Paiz. "Dec. 8 does not mark NCTS Jax's complete end; it just starts another phase, another chapter, in its long successful history."

Naval Command Telecommunications Station (NCTS) Jacksonville started its mission back in 1990 after a merger of the Navy Regional Data Automation Center (NARDAC) Jacksonville and the Naval Computer and Telecommunications Station Jacksonville. During this time it has had a successful vision and mission to shape the way that the Navy communicates and to deliver responsive, resilient, and secure communications systems; providing information superiority for Department of Defense and joint forces in the Southern and Northern Command theaters of operations.

NCTS Jacksonville has had a long prosperous history and has received numerous awards, which include the 2006 Commander Space and Naval Warfare System Command Team Excellence Award; 2006 Defense Message System Award of Excellence; and DISA CONUS CAT-II GIG Transmission Facility of the Year for an unprecedented 4 years in a row (fiscal years 2010-2013).

Paiz completed his Bachelor of Science in Computer Science at California State University, Los Angeles. He taught high school for a year, before joining the Navy as a pilot and earning his commission via Aviation OCS in Pensacola, Florida, in December 1992. He earned his aviator wings in December 1994 after completing flight training in Milton, Florida.

Beginning in 1995, at Naval Air Station Jacksonville, he completed fleet helicopter training and was assigned to Helicopter Squadron 3 (HS-3). As part of HS-3, he completed two deployments on USS John F. Kennedy (CV-67), providing search and rescue and anti-submarine protection. He laterally transferred to the Information Professional community in 2003.

Additional tours include: NCTAMS EURCENT (Naples, Italy) in 2004; tour at Naval Postgraduate School to earn his Master of Science in Systems Engineering in 2006; Destroyer Squadron 26 (CDS-26) in March 2007, which included directly trained Royal Bahraini navy officers within the 5th Fleet area of responsibility; Navy Expeditionary Combat Command as the communications deputy assistant chief of staff (ACOS)(N6) in May 2009; and communications deputy ACOS (N6) at NAVCENT in Bahrain in 2010. Paiz assumed command of NCTS Jacksonville in December 2013.