EVERETT – A pilot who once flew A-6 attack bombers at Whidbey Island Naval Air Station returned to the Puget Sound area Wednesday to take over command of all U.S. Navy operations in the Northwest.
Rear Adm. James Symonds replaced Rear Adm. William French, who left to head naval operations in Guam and naval forces in the Marianas. The change of command took place during a ceremony at Naval Station Everett.
As an A-6 pilot in the 1980s and 1990s, Symonds served several tours at Whidbey Island Naval Air Station both as a flier and later as executive officer and then commander of an attack squadron.
He also served as executive officer on the aircraft carrier Dwight D. Eisenhower and was commanding officer of the carrier USS Ronald Reagan. Before returning to the Northwest, Symonds was director of the environmental readiness division for the chief of naval operations.
He takes over for French, who came to the Northwest in August 2005 and cut operating costs by consolidating services for area naval operations. He also oversaw conversion of two Trident submarines for conventional uses at Naval Station Kitsap and started the transition of replacement planes for the venerable EA-6B radar-jamming warplanes at Whidbey.
“Bill French is a true team leader and a consummate professional who gets things done,” said Vice Adm. Robert Conway Jr., commander of all the Navy’s installations, who spoke at the ceremony. “He exceeded the standard for getting along with people.”
French told the gathering that he’s staying in the Pacific, where the action is for the Navy.
“Friends, this is the Pacific century,” he said, referring to U.S. trading partners and areas of possible threat in the Pacific. He also noted that the Navy aims to put 60 percent of its forces on Pacific shores.
The Puget Sound area has the second largest concentration of naval facilities on the West Coast.
Symonds will manage major facilities at Everett, in Kitsap County and on Whidbey Island. He’s in charge of all shore installations in Washington, Oregon, Alaska, Idaho, Montana and Wyoming.
The area supports two aircraft carriers – in Bremerton and Everett – 10 other surface ships, 14 submarines and 119 aircraft.
The region’s Navy community includes 158,400 people, including more than 31,000 active duty and 2,400 reserve sailors, more than 15,000 civilian workers, 11,400 contractors and more than 42,000 family members of active duty personnel.
Reporter Jim Haley: 425-339-3447 or haley@heraldnet.com.
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