Commanding Officer
Cmdr. Justin Nixon 

A native of Tullahoma, Tennessee, Nixon attended the Georgia Institute of Technology, studying management while participating in the Navy ROTC program; he graduated in 2004 with a Bachelor of Science in Management.
 
Following graduation from Georgia Institute of Technology, he was commissioned as an Ensign in the Navy and reported to Naval Air Station (NAS) Pensacola for training as a naval flight officer, earning his "Wings of Gold" in September 2006.  After completing follow-on training in the F-18 Super Hornet with the "Gladiators" of Strike Fighter Squadron (VFA) 106, he reported to the world famous “Red Rippers” of VFA-11 in October 2007.  While assigned to VFA-11, Nixon deployed onboard USS Harry S. Truman (CVN 75) in 2007-2008 in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom and onboard USS Enterprise (CVN 65) in 2011 in support of Operations Enduring Freedom and New Dawn.
 
In May 2011, he returned to the “Gladiators” as an instructor, training replacement aircrew in the F-18 Hornet and Super Hornet while serving as the standardization officer, training model manager, and fighter weapons phase head. During his time at VFA-106, he was selected to attend the Navy Fighter Weapons School (TOPGUN), graduating from TOPGUN as a strike fighter tactics instructor in March 2012.
 
In January of 2014, Nixon reported to SEAL Team 4, serving as a fire support officer and joint terminal attack controller, where he deployed to the Horn of Africa in 2014-2015 as a member of Special Operations Command Forward - East Africa, supporting counter-insurgency and regional security operations.
 
In May 2016, Nixon returned to the world of operational naval aviation as a department head in his second stint as a “Red Ripper.” During this tour, he served as the safety, administrative, operations, and maintenance officer, once again deploying onboard USS Harry S. Truman (CVN 75) in 2018 to the Eastern Mediterranean Sea supporting Operation Inherent Resolve and north of the Arctic Circle as part of the Secretary of Defense's dynamic force employment initiative.
 
Following his department head tour, Nixon reported to Naval Air Force Atlantic in December 2018 as strike fighter squadron readiness officer and writer of the master aviation plan, where he coordinated the long-term operational schedule and all resourcing requirements for the naval aviation enterprise.
 
In more than seventeen years of naval service, Nixon has contributed to the United States’ national security with five deployments, over 2,000 flight hours and 450 arrested landings, and most importantly the training of hundreds of our nation’s finest warriors.