Naval Air Training Command

Last updated

Naval Air Training Command
Naval Air Training Command.png
Logo of Naval Air Training Command
ActiveJuly 1972 - present (as Naval Air Training Command)
Country Flag of the United States.svg United States of America
BranchFlag of the United States Navy (official).svg United States Navy
TypeTraining Command
RoleFlight training of Naval Aviators and Naval Flight Officers for the U.S. Navy, Marine Corps and Coast Guard
Headquarters NAS Corpus Christi
Corpus Christi, Texas, U.S.
Nickname(s)"CNATRA", "TRACOM"
Flying hours301,532 (2016) [1]
Website www.cnatra.navy.mil
Commanders
Commander Flag of a United States Navy rear admiral.svg RADM Max G. McCoy Jr.
Chief of Staff CAPT Paul N. Flores
Aircraft flown
Fighter F/A-18E/F Super Hornet (Blue Angels)
Trainer helicopter TH-57B/C Sea Ranger
Trainer T-6B Texan
T-44C Pegasus
T-45C Goshawk
Transport C-130J Hercules (Blue Angels)

The Naval Air Training Command (NATRACOM) is a one-star Echelon III command that conducts flight training of student Naval Aviators, student Naval Flight Officers and student Air Vehicle Pilots (AVP). [a] Though it does not conduct Naval Aircrew training which is conducted by Naval Education and Training Command's Naval Aviation Schools Command (NASC), it is responsible for monitoring the production of Aircrewmen through the Naval Aviator Production Process (NAPP). Through the NAPP, NATRACOM is also responsible for programming and monitoring the production of all (currently 19) Navy and Marine Corps Fleet Replacement Squadrons.

Contents

It conducts operations aboard five Naval Air Stations in three states. The Mission of Naval Air Training Command is to train the world’s finest combat quality aviation professionals, delivering them at the right time, in the right numbers, and at the right cost. [2]

Chief of Naval Air Training

The Chief of Naval Air Training (CNATRA), currently RADM Max G. McCoy Jr., [3] leads the Naval Air Training Command (NATRACOM) and is headquartered on board Naval Air Station Corpus Christi, Texas. As recently as 2009, NATRACOM's 739 aircraft logged 358,449 flight hours, nearly a third of the Department of the Navy total for that fiscal year. To put those numbers in perspective, CNATRA flew 28% of the combined Navy and Marine Corps flight hours with 19% of the aircraft. In that same time more than 2,400 Naval Aviators, Naval Flight Officers (NFO) and Naval Aircrewmen earned their "Wings of Gold".[ citation needed ]

Subordinate commands

TA-4J Skyhawk flown by the Commander Naval Air Training Command CNATRA. The red carpet has been rolled out for him at Randolph AFB, Texas, in 1975 Douglas A-4.TA-4J 158712 000 VT-25 Randolph 17.10.75 edited-5.jpg
TA-4J Skyhawk flown by the Commander Naval Air Training Command CNATRA. The red carpet has been rolled out for him at Randolph AFB, Texas, in 1975

CNATRA leads the Naval Air Training Command (NATRACOM) composed of five Training Air Wings. The five active wings are home to seventeen Training Squadrons, designated VT and HT squadrons.

There were three Training Air Wings which have been disestablished (with assigned squadrons)

CNATRA also oversees the Naval Flight Demonstration Squadron (NFDS) Blue Angels.

NATRACOM conducts flight operations at the following Naval Air Stations:

The NATRACOM is part of the Naval Aviation Enterprise (NAE), reporting to Commander, Naval Air Forces.

See also

Notes

  1. AVPs operate the MQ-25 unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV)

References

  1. "Chief of Naval Air Training | Mission".
  2. "Chief of Naval Air Training". www.cnatra.navy.mil. Archived from the original on 26 May 2011. Retrieved 17 May 2010.
  3. "Rear Admiral Westendorff". U.S. Navy Biographies. U.S. Navy. Archived from the original on 26 June 2015. Retrieved 4 August 2020.
  4. Naval Aviation News Nov–Dec 1992 p. 7
  5. Naval Aviation News Jun 1977 p. 34
  6. Naval Aviation News Nov 1977 p. 29