Photo By Kayla Herrera | Paul Fonua, center, deputy director of the Weapons and Warfare Systems Test Department...... read more read more
Naval Air Systems Command honored Paul Fonua, deputy director of the Weapons and Warfare Systems Test Department (5K) at Naval Air Warfare Center Weapons Division, with the 2024 Supervisor of the Year Award for Point Mugu on Oct. 24.
Selected from 92 nominations, Fonua was one of 12 NAVAIR leaders to receive the award. Now in its second year, the Supervisor of the Year award recognizes individuals who exhibit exceptional dedication and skill in leading their teams, fostering a positive work environment, and achieving results that impact the organization and the warfighter.
"I've never really been nominated for anything like this before, so I am honored just to have been nominated," Fonua said. "It really made my entire week."
While Fonua's award highlights his recent achievements, a childhood passion for flight and space ignited his journey much earlier. The Apollo missions captivated him, and his grandfather, a pilot, inspired him. This math whiz often played with an Apollo 1 capsule model, dreaming of the skies.
Born and raised across three Hawaiian islands — Oahu, Maui, and the Big Island — Fonua attended Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in Prescott, Arizona. In 1990, he graduated with a degree in aeronautical engineering and moved to Los Angeles to look for a job near family.
"At that time, it was a depressed aerospace market, and it was tough," Fonua said. "But the one thing I didn't want to do was go back to Hawaii and work in the tourist industry."
At the time, the number of unemployed aerospace engineers in the greater Los Angeles area alone could fill nearly half of Dodger Stadium — 25,000 people.
Undeterred by the competitive job market, Fonua bet on himself.
In 1991, he landed a contracting job with SRS. Little did he know that his path to success would take a rather dusty and unexpected detour at Point Mugu.
One morning, while pulling cables through attic spaces for some of the first network computers at Point Mugu, he spotted a family friend working in security. Unbeknownst to him, interviews were happening that day, and hiring managers were eager to speak with anyone holding an engineering degree. The family friend connected him with Gill Acuña, a branch head for a test group on base.
Acuña called Fonua for an interview at lunch. Despite being in jeans and a T-shirt, he reluctantly agreed. Walking in with dust in his hair and not dressed to impress, the secretaries swept him aside, mistaking him for a janitor, and directed him to the trash. But Fonua's true value lay hidden beneath the dust bunnies. He said he was there to interview with Mr. Acuña. Recognizing his potential, Acuña offered Fonua his first job within an hour.
"He was the epitome of a supervisor. He was gracious, understanding, and technically smart," Fonua said. "That's what I try to mimic day in and day out."
Over his 34 years at NAWCWD, including more than 20 years as a supervisor, Fonua has mentored many supervisors. He credits his own growth to mentors like Acuña — who retired after a long career — and Tom Curtis, who became his next mentor.
"Tom raised me for two decades and morphed me until I became a division head in 2013," Fonua said. "When he retired, it dawned on me how much he had helped me. He gave me so many opportunities."
One of Fonua's most significant early career opportunities was leading one of the most important test programs for the Joint Standoff Weapon. At just 27 years old, he oversaw the launch of 54 weapons over 18 months.
The JSOW was the first smart missile to synchronize its GPS guidance with the aircraft's systems, such as those in the F/A-18. This allowed pilots to strike targets accurately from a safe distance without entering heavily defended enemy airspace.
Leadership hasn't always been easy for Fonua, but he acknowledges that he has grown over time.
"Taking care of our people is the most important thing we need to do, so I've always tried to get it right," Fonua said.
Fonua's leadership strategy, rooted in his mentors' examples, emphasizes grace and servant leadership. He strives to look beyond surface impressions, mirroring the graciousness and investment in his growth that he received.
"I emphasize grace as it has been offered to me when I truly needed it by the great supervisors who preceded me," Fonua said.
By emphasizing mentorship, goal-setting, and succession planning, Fonua improved his team's performance and morale, drove organizational effectiveness, and prepared the next generation of leaders for mission success.
Fonua has spent much of his career working in test and evaluation. He supervises several chief test engineers and aims to pass on the guidance that significantly impacted his career. He meets one-on-one with his direct reports on a regular basis, providing guidance, setting priorities, and serving as a strategic mentor.
"The key to all of this is being willing to be vulnerable, which helps people trust you," Fonua said.
Nicholas Buystedt, 5K's workforce development lead, nominated Fonua for the Supervisor of the Year Award because of Fonua's commitment to employee development.
"Paul cares about the work I'm doing and supports me in my goals," Buystedt said. "Having somebody to sit down and provide guidance is important to me."
When Buystedt presented Fonua with an almost two-page list of six-month goals, Fonua, with concern, asked, "Nick, what about work-life balance and stress?" Guided by Fonua, Buystedt narrowed his focus to three essential priorities and achieved them within a year.
"As a supervisor, seeing someone excel because of your mentorship through advice and conversations, watching them grow, and tracking their progress, is the best feeling one can have," Fonua said.
Fonua prioritizes succession planning and goal-setting as key organizational drivers, leading efforts to develop the next generation of leaders and technical experts.
"Nobody is graduating with a flight test engineering degree," Fonua said. "We have to teach it. By focusing on these, we drive the organization forward."
This is crucial because their work directly impacts the fleet's operational capability — a role that demands precision and readiness.
"We get one shot at getting this right before it gets deployed," Fonua said. "It's not like an iPhone that can be updated easily. Training the next generation is critical."
Succession planning is the process of identifying and developing potential future leaders or key contributors to fill critical positions within an organization when they become available.
Fonua engages supervisors to pinpoint skill gaps and create targeted development plans to ensure a robust pipeline of future talent. But he didn't stop there. He complemented this effort by recruiting for the department and personally requesting to take on the role.
"I really wanted to understand the skill set and confidence of today's graduates," Fonua said. "I even had a girl come up to me and say, 'I want to be a flight test engineer.'"
After recruiting trips in October 2023 and February 2024, he found the caliber of new graduates impressive, noting their strong technical foundations and hands-on experience in areas like digital engineering and model-based systems engineering.
"They're as smart as they've ever been — probably smarter — and they're eager to learn. They actually have some things to teach us as well," Fonua said.
While energized by the potential of new talent, Fonua's deepest passion lies with the team he leads and the mission they uphold. He values both people and mission success, embracing a "dual bottom line."
"When I faced personal issues, he listened, understood my role, and recognized that I'm a person," Buystedt said. "He looks out for his employees as people first, while ensuring we achieve mission success."
Fonua's ability to balance empathy with accountability is his standout leadership quality.
"Caring about people is essential because they're the ones who do the work that makes this capability possible," Buystedt said.
Ultimately, Fonua believes that focusing on people is a supervisor's highest calling.
"I've come to understand from some fantastic supervisors in my career that most people have or will have challenges in life and at work," Fonua said. "Having a supervisor willing to take the time to listen and offer help with a fair share of grace will go a long way."
Besides fostering goal setting and succession planning, Fonua believes in recognizing technical excellence. Many of his senior experts support sensitive programs shaping the future of naval aviation. He nominated two of his chief test engineers, Gregory Glen and Dan Radke, for the 2024 Dr. L.T.E. Thompson Memorial Award.
"It's all about these larger career accomplishments because what they do is so impactful," Fonua said. "They get asked to do many things involving new and sensitive programs, and they're the experts who put it all together."
From an accidental interview to becoming NAVAIR's 2024 Supervisor of the Year for Point Mugu, Fonua has never lost sight of what matters most: empowering his people to serve the warfighter.
"Supervisors can make a larger impact than they realize," Fonua said. "Making those connections and caring for people are things that matter at the end of the day."
Not bad for a guy who started in the attic.
| Date Taken: | 10.31.2024 |
| Date Posted: | 10.31.2024 12:39 |
| Story ID: | 484332 |
| Location: | POINT MUGU, CALIFORNIA, US |
| Web Views: | 126 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, He Was Mistaken for a Janitor—Now Fonua Is Supervisor of the Year, by Tim Gantner, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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