Change of Command at NAS Whiting
Capt. Rick Sadsad leaving for Bahrain and looking forward to his return
Thursday Capt. Enrique ‘Rick’ Sadsad turned the command of NAS Whiting Field to its 38th commander Capt. Pete Hall.
Hall, who is coming to Whiting Field from the Air Warfare division of the Director of the Operational Test and evaluation for the Office of the Secretary of Defense, has completed deployments with the USS John C. Stennis, the USS Saratoga, as well as having been forward deployed to Aviano, Italy while accumulating more than 3,000 flight hours and 500 carrier arrest landings in his 22-year career.
For Sadsad, this marks the end of a two-year stint as the Commander of NAS Whiting Field and a place he now considers his home.
“Milton and Santa Rosa County is our new home,” said Sadsad prior to Thursday’s change of command. “This is such a welcoming and supportive community when it comes to the military.
“The community understands our mission and what we do. There is no hidden agenda.”
Sadsad is now preparing for his next and final tour of duty as the Commanding Officers for Naval Support Activity Bahrain.
For him, this is a continuation of what he has done at Whiting Field.
“This move is a continuation what I have done at NAS Whiting Field,” said Sadsad. “We have trained so many and they are the one who are taking the war to the enemy and I have an opportunity to work with them.”
Recently Sadsad took a trip to Bahrain to meet with some of the aviators.
During that visit he saw Marine aviators with MV-22 who trained at Whiting.
“There were six helicopter pilots on the line who trained right here at Whiting,” said Sadsad. “That really motivates me because I feel like this will help me complete my mission and bring what I hope to do full circle.”
While Commander of Whiting Field, Sadsad achieved a great deal and was rewarded for his contributions to the community as he was named the Santa Rosa County Chamber of Commerce’s Man of the Year for 2008 and the Alliance of Defense Communities’ Military Leader of the Year for 2009.
“It’s a sad day to see Sadsad and his family depart Santa Rosa County,” said Santa Rosa County Commissioner Don Salter. “He has done an outstanding job at not only running the base, but partnering with the local community.
“His leadership on the Limited Access Agreement will have a tremendous impact on the community for many years to come.”
Sadsad’s work on making the Whiting Field Aviation Commerce Park a reality was just one of his accomplishments as he worked to reestablish community relationship programs encouraging military and civilian base personnel to get involved in the area’s outreach efforts.
Many today in the military feel that the Whiting Field-Santa Rosa County team is a model of community and military cooperation across the southeast region, while at the same time accounting for 420,000 aircraft flight hours and more than 4-million flight evolutions.
Joining Sadsad in Bahrain in March will be his wife Yvonne.
“For us it has been a short two years here at NAS Whiting Field,” said Sadsad. “We have done so much as a community thanks to the dedication of everyone and the teamwork involved.”
For Sadsad, a 32-year Navy career, is almost coming full circle.
After starting out as an enlisted Aviation Machines Mate for Helicopter Anti-Submarine Squadron Ten and Helicopter Combat Support Squadron Three, he transferred to Aviation Officer Candidate School and became a Naval Flight Officer in 1984.
His tours include California, Hawaii, Italy, Iceland, as well as serving on the USS Constellation and also performing his command tour with Training Squadron Four when the unit received the Chief of Naval Air Training Award as the best primary flight training squadron.
Most recently he has served as the Senior U.S. Navy representative and the Commander Sixth Fleet Liaison Officer for Commander, Striking and Support Forces NATO and as the Chief of Staff for Commander Maritime Air Naples prior to assuming command at NAS Whiting Field.
Capt. Hall also brings a great deal of training experience to NAS Whiting Field as he served as the Action Officer overseeing the testing of airborne electronic warfare systems. Previously, Hall has completed tours of duty aboard USS John C. Stennis (CVN-74) as the “Air Boss;” Training Squadron EIGHTY-SIX as the Executive Officer and Commanding Officer; the Air Command and Staff College where he earned his Master’s Degree; and various other commands in Florida, Washington State and the Pentagon.
