Command of Naval Air Station Kingsville will change hands Friday at 2 p.m. when Capt. Philip Waddingham will turn over the helm to Capt. Mark McLaughlin during a traditional change of command ceremony at the NAS Club.

Rear Adml. Townsend “Tim” Alexander, Commander, Navy Region Southeast, will be the presiding official and guest speaker.

Capt. McLaughlin reports to Naval Air Station Kingsville from the staff of the Chief of Naval Air Training, where he has served as the Assistant Chief of Staff for Training for the past three years.

Capt. Waddingham will move to Northern Virginia as he will be working for the Under Secretary of the Navy in the Office of Program Appraisal.

Since Capt. Waddingham assumed command of NAS Kingsville in July 2007, he has made remarkable improvements in efficiency, infrastructure and program management including renewable energy, health and safety concerns and quality of life for the 1,800 personnel assigned.

Among his accomplishments, he maintained a sharp focus on mission readiness and support of Training Air Wing Two, the major tenant command, by completing a myriad of facilities improvements including a $11.3 million air traffic control facility upgrade, a $12.9 million runway renovation, a $13.1 million hangar refurbishment, a $1.6 million ground training facility renovation, and construction of a $12 million jet engine test cell structure.

Naval Air Station Kingsville provides undergraduate jet strike training for hundreds of Navy and Marine Corps flight students annually.