Photo By Peter Fitzpatrick | Capt. Adam Scott escorts his wife as he is piped ashore for the final time upon his...... read more read more
NAVAL AIR STATION PATUXENT RIVER, MD – The U.S. Navy’s Airborne Strategic Command, Control and Communications Program Office (PMA-271) held a change of command today, during which Capt. Roger “Raji” Davis relieved Capt. Adam “Lurch” Scott. Scott is retiring after 30 years of honorable military service.
Marine Corps Brig. Gen. David Walsh, the program executive officer for Air Anti-Submarine Warfare, Assault and Special Mission Programs (PEO(A)), presided over the ceremony at Naval Air Station (NAS) Patuxent River, Maryland. The event drew hundreds, including many current and former members of the “Take Charge and Move Out” (TACAMO) community, named for the mission flown by the E-6B Mercury.
The ceremony took place at the Air Test and Evaluation Squadron 20 hangar, the center of E-6 flight testing.
Scott took command as program manager of PMA-271 in January 2021, leading over 500 acquisition professionals in the sustainment, modernization and recapitalization of the Navy’s E-6B and future E-130J aircraft. During his tenure, he led the program office to dramatically reduce turnaround times on the E-6B modification, maintenance and depot lines, secure funding for additional depot lines, and award a $3.5 billion contract for the development of the E-130J. Along the way, he and PMA-271 became models for the application of the Navy’s “Get Real, Get Better” principles, winning the 2023 Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR) Commander’s Award in that category.
Scott is a graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy and U.S. Naval Test Pilot School. He is a decorated naval aviator who has dedicated his career to the nation’s airborne nuclear deterrence mission.
Vice Adm. Carl Chebi, commander of Naval Air Systems Command, was the guest speaker.
“Congratulations on a tremendously successful career and thank you for your dedicated and faithful service to our great country,” said Chebi. “You truly made a difference and you performed magnificently. The United States Navy and naval aviation is far better today because of your many dedicated and faithful years of service.”
Scott is succeeded by Davis, a TACAMO veteran who most recently served as the E-6B Level 1 Integrated Product Team Lead at PMA-271. In that role, he led the sustainment and modernization of the E-6B fleet.
Davis received his officer commission in 2003 and graduated from U.S. Naval Test Pilot in 2008. He has served in a variety of roles in the squadrons that test and operate the E-6B fleet, including commanding Fleet Air Reconnaissance Squadron 3 from 2021 -2022.
He takes the helm at a critical time for the program’s nuclear deterrence mission, especially as the team works to field the E-130J, the successor to the E-6B for the TACAMO mission.
“The next four years will see the need for our TACAMO warfighters to be ready in a way we haven’t seen before, ready to be in the forefront of our nation’s nuclear deterrence strategy,” said Davis. “This community is the foundation that will enable that readiness, supporting those warfighters that fly today, and preparing a system that will endure in the future.”
PMA-271 is headquartered at NAS Patuxent River with support personnel at NAS Jacksonville, Florida, and Tinker Air Force Base, Oklahoma. Its mission is to deliver and support survivable, reliable and endurable airborne command, control and communications for the president, secretary of defense and U.S. Strategic Command.
The E-6 is a dual-role aircraft that flies the no-fail TACAMO and Looking Glass missions. TACAMO provides alternate communications with the Navy’s nuclear forces in the event ground-based communications become inoperable. Looking Glass facilitates the launch of U.S. land-based intercontinental ballistic missiles using an airborne launch control system (ALCS). The ALCS serves as an around-the-clock standby in the event that U.S. Strategic Command or launch control centers on the ground become incapacitated.
The E-130J will relieve the E-6B of the TACAMO mission.
In his parting words, Scott encouraged the PMA-271 team to continue its work to ensure the first mission of the Department of Defense: protecting the homeland by providing assured strategic nuclear deterrence.
“Stay in the fight. Don’t give up,” said Scott. “Today closes one long, 30-year chapter of our journey. I look forward to seeing what the next chapter looks like.”
For additional information, visit https://www.navair.navy.mil/organization/PMA-271.
| Date Taken: | 03.21.2025 |
| Date Posted: | 03.25.2025 09:56 |
| Story ID: | 493665 |
| Location: | PATUXENT RIVER, MARYLAND, US |
| Hometown: | OKLAHOMA CITY, OKLAHOMA, US |
| Web Views: | 91 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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