In December 2006, Pax River Commanding Officer Capt. Glen Ives was asked about his personal goals during his tenure in command. Five months into that tenure, he would admit to only one: to not lose a Pax Pro on his watch.
Eighteen months later, with only eight days to go before he turns the reins over to Capt. Andy Macyko, that goal is within his grasp. It’s a source of some satisfaction.
‘‘Without a doubt,” Ives said. ‘‘When you have a job like this one where you’re responsible for people, you can get distracted by all the things that come at you. There can be unexploded ordnance at one part of the base, or an aircraft in the pattern with a problem, or if a water main breaks or electricity goes out. It’s easy to become distracted and lose focus. The challenge is to maintain that focus.”
He continued, ‘‘That’s why you hear me say so many times that the safety, security and welfare of our people is our number one priority at all times. When I talk about that, it’s also to remind myself that the bottom line is the safety, security and welfare of our people. If we do that right, it’s been a good day.”
That emphasis is, and will continue to be, important throughout Pax River, because ‘‘any time you’re in the aviation environment, you’re at risk and vulnerable. If you become complacent, you’re going to pay,” he stated. ‘‘Things can happen in the T&E (test and evaluation) world in a heartbeat day in and day out, but we do it so well that we start to take it for granted, and that’s when you start to get in trouble.
‘‘That’s why I talk about it so often — so we don’t take it for granted.”
Ives came to Pax River in 2001 as Commanding Officer of VX-1, and then was NAWCAD Vice Commander before becoming Pax River’s Executive Officer and then Commanding Officer. One of the big success stories during that time has been the V-22 Osprey, which was almost cancelled after two crashes in 2000.
The V-22 was a program that had its ups and downs over many years,” said Ives. ‘‘After that tragic accident, NAVAIR took a hard look at the program and problems were identified. How they responded is a ‘good news’ story. That is when the concept of integrated testing became something we understood and appreciated.”
That’s where the air station’s support function comes in. ‘‘Providing the infrastructure is a vital part of success, because it lets them work as an integrated test team. Having the MMA (Multi Mission Aircraft) team together in Hangar 305 means that the developmental testing is done there, and that’s also where VX-1 is. VX-1 will do the operational testing, and you can bet that MMA testing will go very smoothly because of that synergy between the developmental and operational testers.”
Pax River, stated Ives, has an important strategic mission. ‘‘In very basic terms, our mission is to insure from a naval aviation perspective that our Sailors and Marines in our fleet have what they need to do their jobs in a way that keeps them more safe and very capable. Our mission is to provide them with the best technology to help them as they fight wars and do the things we ask of them to insure the security of our nation. That’s our job.”
Ives compares it to a missile. ‘‘To get that weapon on target, it’s got to have the right guidance system, it’s got to have the right aerodynamics, the right fins,” he said. ‘‘I liken that to, from a base perspective, our support programs.”
In addition to making sure the tenant commands have the infrastructure — buildings, roads, electricity, air fields, etc. — they need to do the research and development, there are other needs. ‘‘The Fleet and Family Support Center has to provide the right kind of support to our families so our Sailors, Marines and civilians can focus on their missions,” Ives said. ‘‘How are we communicating with our mission people so we understand future requirements? What about supply and procurement? MWR plays a key role in the morale of our people. How strong are their programs and what will they be doing as our demographics change?”
Security is important as well, and ‘‘it’s probably one of the key aspects of what we do here. If there’s anything I want to be sure of, it’s that I can look my people in the eye and say we’re providing the level of security that will insure their safety.”
According to Ives, ‘‘All of those are things that keep this missile on course. All the security and support programs have to work. If we want to get to that target, it means assuring we give everything to the fleet it needs — and we do that. We have to have all those pieces in place in a way that we’re doing it day-to day and also anticipating future needs.”
To Ives, everyone at Pax River is one team. ‘‘We have 22,000 people here on base, and not everyone is involved in every program. There are people involved in the support programs who have a tendency to say, ‘I’m not directly involved with the V-22 or the H-60R program, so I had nothing to do with it.’ That’s totally inaccurate.”
He continued, ‘‘While you may not be a part of the V-22 program, if you’re part of NAS Pax you’ve had something to do with it. If you worked here at Pax during that program’s development, then you had a part in it being successful, and that’s true of every one of the over 65 major programs we support.”
There is more to the CO job than what happens ‘‘inside the fence.” There’s also outside the fence, being what Congressman Steny Hoyer calls being ‘‘the mayor of Pax River.”
‘‘We’ve made some real progress there,” Ives said. ‘‘We’ve communicated better internally and externally than we ever have before. There’s no magic formula and nothing terrible innovative about what we’ve done. We’ve made communications part of our strategy and a top priority.”
According to Ives, ‘‘It’s vital for the community to understand what we’re doing, whether it’s through new sign boards, the Tester newspaper, or my going out physically. If you look at my calendar, a lot of my time is being out of the office on the base or in the community. It’s part of my responsibility.”
Not all the speaking engagements are fun. They’re work, particularly because Ives does his own writing. ‘‘I do a number of them, not because I’m Glen Ives but because I’m CO of the base,” he said. ‘‘I rarely say no. The only times I do is if there’s a previous commitment. What I enjoy more than the speaking is the interaction, like question answer times.”
Ives continued, ‘‘I realize that as the base CO you’re the image of the Navy and the image of Pax River both to the people of Pax River and outside the base. That’s an awesome responsibility.
‘‘What do you want the image to be? I want that image to be positive. We’re proud of what we do, we’re proud of where we live, and we want to share it with people.”
So do people know more about the base now?
‘‘I think they do,” Ives answered. ‘‘I say that with a great deal of confidence and honesty. More people know what’s happening at Pax River.”
Knowing what’s happening is important on the base itself, too. ‘‘Whenever we do something, I try to let our commands know not only what we’re doing, but why we’re doing it. So many times, it comes across better when you combine what’s happening with the why.”
Ives has called being CO ‘‘the greatest job in the Navy,” and with his tenure almost over, Ives will admit to only one disappointment. ‘‘It’s been that time is too short. That may sound trite and cliche. but it’s true.
Said Ives, ‘‘My time is up so quickly, especially my time as CO. I have a bunch more ideas I’d like to try, but there’s no time left. That’s my only disappointment. The good thing is that Capt. (Andy) Macyko and our Pax Pro team will pick right up and move us forward.”
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