The Center for Naval Aviation Technical Training (CNATT) held a change of command ceremony at the National Naval Aviation Museum aboard Naval Air Station Pensacola, Florida, Oct. 27.

Capt. Terrence E. Hammond turned over responsibilities to Capt. Eric J. Simon during the two-hour ceremony, at which Naval Education and Training Command (NETC) Chief of Staff Capt. Mike Whitt presided.

Hammond, who served as the CNATT commanding officer since July 2015, oversaw the delivery of 560 courses at 27 different locations during his 18-month tenure, graduating more than 110,000 students annually.

"Thank you for allowing me the privilege to serve and be called your commanding officer," he said. "The Sailors who are coming through our doors are prepared and ready to meet the challenges they will face, and that's due to the tireless dedication, relentless efforts and wealth of knowledge the CNATT team possesses. I wholeheartedly believe the CNATT team is the best at what they do."

During the ceremony, Hammond was presented the Legion of Merit, an award he attributed to the dedication of the hundreds of CNATT domain Sailors, Marines and civilian employees to ensuring quality training for aircraft maintainers.

"Each day I served as the [CNATT] commanding officer, I was humbled by the tremendous amount of professionalism displayed by the men and women of CNATT," he said. "The CNATT team clearly understands our mission: to provide guidance, direction and protection and to enable our units and detachments to provide technical training to our Sailors and Marines who ultimately support our warfighters."

Under Hammond's leadership, CNATT earned the 2015 NETC Learning Center Training Excellence Award, in addition to training excellence awards in the functional categories of logistics management and curriculum management. Hammond also authored a revised Training Requirements Reviews Process which enabled aviation training commands to quickly identify and resolve fleet skill and training gaps. He was also instrumental in the Chief of Naval Operation's Ready Relevant Learning and Sailor 2025 initiative, forming a Ready Relevant Learning innovation cell and a Block Learning Analysis Process that introduced the first rating review process of all the NETC learning centers.

Hammond retired from active duty after more than 28 years of service, with Rear Adm. 'CJ' Jaynes presiding over the retirement portion of the dual ceremony.

Simon, who had served as the CNATT executive officer since May 2015, addressed the CNATT military and civilian staff as the commanding officer for the first time, expressing his appreciation for the opportunity to directly impact naval aviation technical training.

"Training is the backbone of fleet readiness, and that's what we're responsible for here and at learning sites across the country," Simon said. "We are responsible for putting the finest aviation Sailors and Marines into the fleet, so that they in turn can support the finest warfighters in the world."

CNATT is a technical training agent for the Naval Aviation Enterprise, an organization designed to advance and sustain naval aviation warfighting capabilities at an affordable cost, and is the largest training center under Naval Education and Training Command.

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