Webb assumes command at NAS Oceana

VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. (WAVY) - Capt. James D. Webb relieved Capt. Mark Rich, as Commanding Officer of Naval Air Station Oceana during a change-of-command ceremony Thursday at the Center for Naval Aviation Technical Training Unit onboard Oceana.

Capt. Webb, originally from Atlanta, Ga., has served as NAS Oceana’s Executive Officer for the last eighteen months. He will be the Master Jet Base's 41st Commanding Officer. Webb came to NAS Oceana after serving as Deputy Chief of the Joint Training Division at U.S. Joint Forces Command’s Joint Warfighting Center. An F/A-18 pilot and Test Pilot, Webb’s most recent squadron tour was as Commanding Officer of the “Sunliners” of VFA-81 at NAS Oceana. He also completed operational tours with VFA-86 and VFA-37, a test tour with the Aviation Engineering Test Establishment (AETE) in Cold Lake, Alberta, Canada, and served as an instructor pilot with VFA-106. He has over 4700 hours in 29 different types of aircraft and over 660 carrier arrested landings.

Capt. Rich, who became the Commanding Officer of NAS Oceana on February 27, 2009, will move to his next assignment as the Chief of Staff for Naval Region Southwest in San Diego.