In a change of command ceremony Friday at Naval Air Station Pensacola, Capt. Terry ‘Village’ Shashaty was relieved of his duties as base commander and succeeded by Capt. Chandra ‘Mamasan’ Newman.
Newman, a native of Inverness, Florida, becomes the first female commanding officer in the history of NAS Pensacola.
According to The Coronado News, Newman started training to become a pilot in Pensacola, after graduating from Troy University.
After receiving her wings of gold in August 2004, she was assigned to serve with Helicopter Sea Combat (HSC) squadrons. She most recently served as the Commander, Naval Air Forces (CNAF) Leadership, Education, Growth, Advocacy, Culture, and Youth Outreach (LEGACY) director.
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The change of command ceremony, held at the National Naval Aviation Museum, also served as a retirement ceremony for outgoing base commander Shashaty, completing a 26-year career in the U.S. Navy.
Shashaty, a native of Brooklyn, New York, is a 1998 graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy, where he earned a Bachelor of Science in Economics. He also received a Master of Arts in National Security and Strategic Studies and was selected as one of four U.S. officers enrolled in the Naval Staff College, the U.S. Naval War College’s program for mid-grade international naval officers representing 39 countries from across the globe. Designated a Naval Aviator in October 2000, Shashaty completed four operational carrier deployments flying the EA-6B Prowler and oversaw the transition to the EA-18G Growler and its inaugural expeditionary deployment to the Indo-Pacific area.
Shashaty served as CO of NAS Pensacola for nearly three years, assuming command in January 2022.
NAS Pensacola, referred to as the "Cradle of Naval Aviation," is designed to support operational and training missions of tenant commands, including the Naval Aviation Technical Training Center (NATTC); Naval Aviation Schools Command (NASC); the Center for Information Warfare Training (CIWT); Marine Aviation Training Support Groups (MATSG) 21 and 23. Also, the base serves as the headquarters for the Naval Education and Training Command (NETC).
