Capt. Scott Starkey assumed command of Naval Air Station Patuxent River in a change of command ceremony April 14 at the installation's Hangar 109.

Starkey's role as NAS Patuxent River commanding officer follows his previous position as the base executive officer.

"It went very fast," said Starkey of his time as XO. "It's been a whirlwind learning experience where I learned something new every day."

Starkey served 19 months as the air station's XO, a position that falls under the Navy's Fleet-Up program. In that program, executive officers serve 18 months and then they "fleet up" to become the commanding officer for their command tour on the same ship or station.

This practice provides focused command leadership stability throughout a base's life, according to OPNAVINST 1412.14. Commanding officers reap the benefits of the actions and policies they institute as executive officer.

Starkey was familiar with NAS Patuxent River prior to his time as XO. Almost 20 years prior, Starkey spent four months at Pax River as a member of what is now HX-21.

He said that once he came back to serve as the installation XO, he was struck by the size and scope of the air station and its operations.

"It's a unique base," said Starkey. "I knew that already, but I've got a better understanding now how unique it is with all the great work that goes on here. By virtue of being the XO, being out and about seeing all of our work force in action, as well as the tenants and the work they do, it's pretty amazing what goes on here. I knew we conducted research, development, test, and evaluation, but now I have a better understanding of how broad of work goes on at Pax River."

As for policy, Starkey said he plans on maintaining many of the policies set by previous commanding officer Capt. Heidi Fleming.

"We worked together the whole time very well; I learned a lot from the previous skipper," Starkey said of Fleming. "I don't see a ton of shifts. I will say that I've learned a few things over the past year about installation management, but the biggest thing is respect; you've heard that from [Capt. Fleming] before - respecting each other, and treating everyone with dignity and respect. That mutual respect is the scene-setter from working with tenants, working with each other, working within departments. So that will continue to be a focus area."


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