Cmdr. Timothy Kelley relieved Cmdr. Michael Curry during a change of command ceremony for the Center for Naval Aviation Technical Training Unit (CNATTU) Jacksonville May 11.

Center for Naval Aviation Technical Training (CNATT) Commanding Officer Capt. Eric Simon presided over the ceremony attended by CNATTU Jacksonville staff members, students, family and friends at the chapel onboard Naval Air Station Jacksonville.

Before turning over command, Curry thanked the CNATT staff for their support during his nearly three-year tour as the organization's executive and later commanding officer.

"The entire CNATT staff - Jacksonville and headquarters (HQ) in Pensacola - has provided unequalled support during my tenure," said Curry. "No request from HQ ever went unanswered, and they always went above and beyond to help in any situation. Their contributions have enabled the CNATTU Jacksonville team to continue providing the best training for the best maintainers the Navy and Marine Corps has, and I am deeply grateful for the opportunity to have led the CNATTU Jacksonville men and women for the past few years."

As commanding officer, Curry oversaw nearly 200 Sailors, Marines and civilian staff members and was responsible for seven maintenance training units; aviation support equipment; and tactical mobile and aviation maintenance training laboratories. He was instrumental in the establishment of four operations and maintenance training laboratories and spearheaded an initiative which saw the training of more than 400 foreign military students from eight coalition countries in MH-60R helicopter and P-8A aircraft maintenance systems.

Curry was selected for the Limited Duty Officer (LDO) program in 1999. As a commissioned officer at sea, he served with Helicopter Combat Support Squadrons (HC) 8 and 2, Fleet Logistics Squadron (VRC) 40, aboard USS Carl Vinson (CVN 70), and aboard USS Bataan (LHD 5). His shore tours as a commissioned officer include Naval Education and Training Command, Naval Surface Force Atlantic.

Curry's next assignment is with Naval Air Systems Command Multi-Mission Tactical Unmanned Aerial Systems in Patuxent River, Maryland.

Kelley has served as the CNATTU Jacksonville executive officer since October 2016. He enlisted in the Navy in June 1986 as an aviation electronics technician. He was commissioned through the LDO program in October 2000. His sea duty assignments include USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN 71); Electronic Attack Squadron (VAQ) 135; and USS Wasp (LHD 1). His shore assignments include Aviation Intermediate Maintenance Detachment Oceana onboard Naval Air Station Oceana, Virginia; Naval Air Systems Command PMA-205 in Patuxent River, Maryland; and as the Naval Air Technical Training Center avionics training department head onboard Naval Air Station Pensacola, Florida.

CNATTU Jacksonville provides rate-specific aviation technical training, specializing in aviation support equipment "C" school training.

CNATTU Jacksonville is a training unit for CNATT, a technical training agent for the Naval Aviation Enterprise (NAE), an organization designed to advance and sustain Naval Aviation warfighting capabilities, under the Naval Education and Training Command domain.


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