Naval Test Wing Atlantic named Air Test and Evaluation Squadron (UX) 24 maintenance officer Trisha Rent as the 2019 Naval Test Wing Atlantic Harry R. Errington Maintenance Officer of the Year for what her commanding officer describes as her “’lead from the front’ work ethic and meticulous oversight” of a transition to a new maintenance contractor.

“Trisha organized, prepared, and implemented an unprecedented two maintenance transition periods on the same contract in one year,” said Cmdr. Matthew A. Densing, UX-24’s commanding officer. “Her efforts during both transitions were the embodiment of her resilient leadership and ‘can-do’ professionalism.”

Rent said that the new contractor had no prior experience with naval aviation maintenance, which required her and her staff to work closely with the contractor to bring them up to speed.

“It required a lot of training,” Rent said. “The folks here did a lot of program auditing and mentoring and as much of the contractor’s day-to-day planning as we were allowed to."

Rent, who previously served in the s Marine Corps, has been with the squadron for more than seven years. She was selected from among candidates nominated by the test wing’s four air test and evaluation squadrons as well as the U.S. Naval Test Pilot School.

"I'm very honored because it's certainly a team effort around here," Rent said. “I was also surprised because I had put my coworker in for that award. They did a switcheroo on me," she added with a laugh.

Among her accomplishments last year, Rent wrote the complete statement of work for a new maintenance contract, served as liaison with the new contractor to minimize the time required to train and qualify its personnel, and drafted guidance for a new maintenance program for unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) that was the first of its kind in the Navy.

Rent said that she was pleased that Naval Test Wing Atlantic recognized the hard work of the maintenance team at UX-24, the wing’s smallest squadron and the Navy’s only one dedicated to UAS testing.

“We have a lot of work down here and we take it seriously," Rent said.

The NTWL Maintenance Officer of the Year Award is named after Lt. Cmdr.  Harry R. Errington, who led the Aircraft Maintenance Department at the then-Strike Aircraft Test Directorate following his retirement from active duty in 1974. A long-time volunteer aircraft maintenance officer at the Patuxent River Naval Aviation Museum, Errington is honored with a place on the National Air and Space Museum’s Wall of Fame.

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