Capt Matthew Arny to Assume Command Of NAS Whidbey Island

NAS Whidbey Island, WA – Capt. Geoff Moore Commanding Officer, Naval Air Station (NAS) Whidbey Island, will turn over command of the air station to Capt. Matthew Arny on Friday, August 17.

The change of command ceremony will be held at 10 a.m., in the Indoor Wash Rack Facility. Guest speaker for the event is Rear Adm. Dell Bull, Special Assistant for Naval Air Systems Command.

During Moore’s tenure, Commander, Installations Command chose NAS Whidbey Island as the top U.S. Navy installation in the country for 2016 and 2018 in recognition of its outstanding support to active duty Sailors and their families, environmental stewardship and dynamic relationships with the community.

Also under his leadership, the base won numerous other high level Navy awards, including the Secretary of the Navy Energy Award for 2016, Environmental Stewardship Flagship Award for 2016 and 2017, the Chief of Naval Operations (CNO) Environmental Award for Natural Resources Management, 2017 CNO Safety Shore Award, the 2017 Secretary of the Navy Environmental Award for Cultural Resources Management and the 2017 Department of Defense Suicide Prevention Outreach Recognition Award. Moore’s next assignment will be with Commander, Naval District Washington as the chief staff officer.

Arny, a native of Alexandria, Va., graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy in 1993. As a Naval Flight Officer, Arny has logged over 3,000 flight hours in the F-14A/B/D, F/A-18B/D/F, JAS-39D, F-4, F-5, F-16, TA-4 and various other aircraft accumulating over 700 arrested landings.

Arny’s early flying assignments include aircraft carrier-based squadron tours aboard USS George Washington (CVN 73), USS John F. Kennedy (CV 67), USS Dwight D. Eisenhower (CVN 69) and USS Ronald Reagan (CVN 76). Arny also served aboard the USS Enterprise (CVN 65) and the Assistant Navigator and on the USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN 72) as the Operations Officer. Assignments ashore included duty as the U.S Naval Attaché to the Kingdom of Sweden, Operational Test Director in Air Test and Evaluation Squadron Nine Detachment in Pt. Mugu, Calif., and Executive Assistant to the Chief, U.S. Liaison Office, U.S. Embassy Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. He earned a Masters of Arts in National Security and Strategic Studies from the Naval War College and a Master’s in Business Administration from the Darden School of Business, University of Virginia.

He commanded Commanding Officer in VFA-154, and has participated in operations Southern Watch, Iraqi Freedom and New Dawn in Iraq, Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan, and Tomodachi in Japan.

Arny will assume command of the Navy’s sole air station in the Pacific Northwest. The installation employs over 8,400 active duty military and over 2,100 Department of Defense civilians and full-time contract employees. The annual economic impact the base brings to Island County and surrounding communities exceeds $800 million.

 

Written and Provided by Michael Welding, NAS Whidbey Island