8/29/2007 - Rear Adm. David Dunaway will replace Rear Adm. Mark Skinner as commander of the Naval Air Warfare Center Weapons Division during a change of command ceremony on Sept. 18.

The ceremony will be held at 9 a.m. on the front lawn of the Administration Building at the Naval Air Weapons Station China Lake. NAVAIR Commander and former NAWCWD Commander Vice Adm. David Venlet will be the keynote speaker. A reception will follow at the Paradise Cafe (formerly the Wreck Center). All military personnel, Department of Defense civilian employees and contractors are invited to attend.

Skinner will return to Patuxent River to head the Program Executive Office for Tactical Aircraft Programs. Dunaway comes to China Lake from his most recent assignment as deputy program executive officer for Air ASW, Assault and Special Mission Programs at Patuxent River.

Dunaway, born in El Paso, Texas, received his wings in April 1984 and subsequently served as a Selectively Retained Graduate flight instructor in Meridian, Miss. After completing F/A-18 initial training, he served in VFA-151 aboard the USS Midway in Yokosuka, Japan from 1986-1989, when he was selected for the U.S. Naval Test Pilot School at Patuxent River.

Dunaway’s test assignments include A-12 operational test director for VX-5, F/A-18 branch head and operational test director for the Airborne Self Protection Jammer, and deputy for Test and Evaluation for the F/A-18 Weapon System Support Activity. He also served as the F/A-18E/F operational test director at VX-9. In this position, Dunaway flew more than 200 developmental test missions and was selected as the Test Pilot of the Year.

His program management assignments include PMA-265 as the F/A-18 Radar IPT lead for the APG-79 Active Electronically Scanned Array radar, and PMA-201 as the program manager for the Precision Strike Weapons program office.

Dunaway holds a bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering from the U.S. Naval Academy, a master’s in Aviation Systems Management from the University of Tennessee and a master’s in Aerospace Engineering from the Naval Postgraduate School. His personal decorations include the Legion of Merit, Meritorious Service Medal, Navy Commendation Medal and the Navy Achievement Medal. He has accrued more than 2,900 flight hours and 290 arrested carrier landings.

Source: USN/NavAir Press Release