Vice Adm. David A. Dunaway Retires Following A 33-Year Naval Career

The U.S. Naval Academy's class of 1982 took center stage Friday as one member relieved another as commander of NAVAIR amid praises from a third distinguished classmate.

Before an audience, which included a few dozen of their 1982 classmates, Vice Adm. Paul Grosklags assumed command from Vice Adm. David A. Dunaway (pictured), who retired following a 33-year naval career. Both received congratulations from fellow alumnus and Naval Air Forces Commander Vice Adm. Mike Shoemaker.
 
"'82 is kind of running the Navy now, if you know what I mean," Dunaway said. "I swear it looks exactly like it did in 1978, only they've swelled."
 
Shoemaker stepped in for Chief of Naval Operations Adm. John Richardson, also a member of the academy's 1982 class, who was unable to make the trip to Patuxent River due to adverse weather conditions on Friday.
 
"It's absolutely neat to be able to keep this inside '82, and a treat for me to represent Naval Aviation up here on this stage with two of my very good friends and classmates," Shoemaker said.
 
"This occasion is made all the more special by having those of you here today who formed up in Tecumseh Court among Midshipman 4th Class Dave Dunaway, 37 years ago," said Assistant Secretary of the Navy for Research, Development and Acquisition Sean Stackley.
 
Stackley congratulated the class of 1982, pausing to allow some partisan applause before continuing.
 
"Now, brace up," he joked. "As a member of the class of 1979, it's worth reminding you one more time what was the best class, which is a bit easier to say this morning now that the CNO's airplane is grounded and he's back in the Pentagon."
 
As is practice among naval aviators, the ceremony's speakers consistently referred to Dunaway by his call sign, "Decoy", a moniker he earned while duck hunting when he mistook a field of duck decoys for the real thing and fired upon the hapless lures.
 
In comments relayed by Shoemaker, Richardson praised Dunaway as an "innovator" who "moved NAVAIR and the Navy briskly into the information age."
 
"Whether it was cyber security, wireless technology or 3D printing, it seems like every time we thought we were onto a brand new idea, someone in the room would always stand up and say, 'Sir, Adm. Dunaway has already done that. You should check it out.'"
 
Submissions for end of tour awards typically include a one- or two-page list of accomplishments, "...the one for Decoy and NAVAIR was almost six pages long," Shoemaker said.
 
Stackley credited Dunaway with introducing NAVAIR to a new "lexicon" of innovation--terms such as "AIRWorks, NAVAIR University, open architecture, integrated warfighting capabilities (IWC), integration and interoperability, live, virtual and constructive (LVC) testing and training, the business of business, critical chain project management and additive manufacturing," he said.
 
"A lexicon that while commonplace here, major system commands across the services yearn to emulate," Stackley said.
 
"Throughout his career, Decoy has served with an unparalleled understanding of the need to take risks, the risks that come with being the most powerful navy in the world, and by doing so, he's raised the bar on performance at each command he has served," Stackley added before presenting Dunaway with the Distinguished Service Medal.
 
Shoemaker said Dunaway was "absolutely the right person, at the right time, to lead NAVAIR." He thanked the Naval Air Warfare Center's aircraft and weapons divisions and the fleet readiness centers, "to the engineers, testers and logisticians across the NAVAIR force, to the program teams and to the critical supporting functions of contracting, finance and legal that help us navigate the complex acquisition world," he said.
 
Shoemaker credited Dunaway with helping shape three naval aviation priorities--sustaining today's fleet, testing and evaluating future aircraft and weapons, and "leading the critical transition to a live, virtual and constructive training environment to practice high-end tactics, optimize the way we generate readiness and proficiency and build the reps and sets necessary to take full advantage of every flight hour dollar we get."
 
In his own remarks, Dunaway told stories, which he said taught him the three qualities he credited with his success: humility, perseverance and grace. He also called NAVAIR a "best in class" organization.

"I believe the fact that we take technical and connect it with tactical is our gift. There are a lot of things that go into that. We're a very data-driven organization. We like constructive conflict," he said. "Our strengths are our weaknesses; we work on those weaknesses to try and make ourselves better every day. We've come a long way in the last three years, and I'm very confident that we're on the right track, and I hope that you all continue to push and work with Vice Adm. Grosklags (pictured) to push these things through."
 
Dunaway praised his successor, whom he called the "perfect person" to assume command of NAVAIR.
 
"No one is better suited than 'G8' to take my place," Dunaway said, referring to Grosklags by his call sign. "He will sustain and push this on much better than I could, and I can't wait to watch you all perform."
 
Upon relieving Dunaway, in his first address as NAVAIR commander, Grosklags deemed affordability and readiness chief among Naval Aviation's critical challenges.
 
"The cost to develop, the cost to procure and the cost to sustain our aircraft and weapons and systems is outpacing our budget and [Director of Air Warfare Rear Adm. Mike Manazir's] checkbook. We can't keep pace, so we need to redouble our efforts here at NAVAIR, and a lot of the initiatives that have been put in place by Vice Adm. Dunaway and you all as part of the NAVAIR team, we're going to double down on."
 
Among those initiatives will be a "round turn on how we sustain those aircraft we already have in the fleet," Grosklags said. "This is about readiness of our current force. The number of aircraft that we have on the flight lines today that we cannot fly for a variety of reasons is simply unaffordable."
 
To that end, NAVAIR must "continue to look for ways to become more predictive and less reactive to the state of our fleet's health," he added.
 
NAVAIR must also look for ways to put the Navy on a better path towards affording future platforms and weapons systems, Grosklags said.
 
"I'm not talking about more efficiencies, I'm not talking about nibbling around the edges, I'm talking about looking for fundamental ways that we can change the way we do business inside of NAVAIR and how we do business with our industry partners," he said. "If that makes some of you a little nervous, that's okay, because the path we're on should make you a little nervous as well."
 
Calling himself a "glass half full kind of guy, maybe three quarters," Grosklags assured his audience of his confidence in NAVAIR's ability to deliver on his orders. He noted a few organizational successes before adding, "We collectively have to take those examples and make them our standard vice our exception that we talk about. They need to be part of everything that we do inside of NAVAIR and Naval Aviation."
 
An improved path could mean more risk, but "I'm okay with that too, because we have to balance that risk against the risk of not being able to provide those timely capabilities to our Sailors and Marines," Grosklags said.
 
For Grosklags, the ceremony marked a return to Pax River, where he previously served flag tours as NAVAIR's vice commander, commander Fleet Readiness Centers, assistant commander for logistics and industrial operations and program executive officer for air anti-submarine warfare, assault and special mission programs. He left NAVAIR in 2013 to become principal military deputy to the assistant secretary of the Navy for Research, Development and Acquisition.
 
Back in Pax River, Grosklags said he was excited to be leading the organization that is, in his view, the most critical to "the health of Naval Aviation."
 
"I'm ready to get to work," he said.

(U.S. Navy images)

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