Commanding Officer
Cmdr. Mason Fox
Commander Mason Fox, a native of Lemoore, California, graduated with merit from the United States Naval Academy in May 2007, earning a Bachelor of Science in Political Science. Upon commissioning, he reported to Naval Air Station Pensacola for flight training and earned his wings of gold in April 2009.
After qualifying in the H-60 F/H Seahawk helicopter at Helicopter Anti-Submarine Squadron (HS) 1 , he reported to the HS-14 “Chargers” at Naval Air Facility Atsugi, Japan. He made three Western Pacific deployments aboard USS George Washington (CVN 73) and flew relief missions from the USS Mustin (DDG 89) during Operation Tomodachi following the Tohoku earthquake and tsunami in March 2011. While assigned to HS-14, he served as Legal Officer, Line Division Officer, and Quality Assurance Officer.
At the completion of his junior officer tour at HS-14, Fox was selected to join the “Red Wolves” of Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron (HSC) 84 at Naval Station Norfolk. He deployed three times to the Central Command Crisis Response Element (CRE), providing rotary wing direct support to U.S. Special Operations Command assets and serving as Joint Special Operations Air Component Central (JSOAC-C) Liaison Officer and Detachment Operations Officer. He completed his tour with HSC-84 as the Operations Department Head.
In 2016, Fox was selected to transition the “Dragonslayers” of HSC-11 to the MH-60S Seahawk helicopter. He served as Aviation Safety Officer and Safety Department Head, leading the “Dragonslayers” through their Safe to Operate inspection following the squadron’s airframe transition and the entire work-up cycle prior to their 2018 deployment. During his tour with HSC-11, he earned a Master of Business Administration from Kenan-Flagler Business School, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where he was a Beta Gamma Sigma graduate.
Upon selection as a Department Head, Fox reported to the “Dusty Dogs” of HSC-7 in April 2018. He served as Training Officer and Maintenance Officer, and qualified as a Carrier Air Wing (CVW) 3 Strike Lead. He led the “Dusty Dog” Maintenance Department on CVW-3’s 2020 deployment aboard USS Dwight D. Eisenhower (CVN 69).
Following his Department Head tour, Fox was selected as a Secretary of the Navy Tours with Industry fellow at Amazon Web Services (AWS). At AWS, he worked on the Venture Capital Business Development team in the Startup segment, learning ways that the Navy can use industry best practices in cloud computing and innovation to prepare for Distributed Maritime Operations against a peer adversary.
In 2022, he reported as Executive Officer to the “Mighty Bison” of Fleet Logistics Multi-Mission Squadron (VRM) 40 following his transition to the V-22 Osprey aircraft with “Raptors” of Marine Medium Tiltrotor Training Squadron (VMMT) 204.
Fox assumed the duties of Commanding Officer of VRM-40 in May 2024.
Fox has logged over 2,600 flight hours in propeller, rotary, and tiltrotor aircraft. His personal decorations include the Navy Commendation Medal (three awards), Joint Service Achievement Medal, Navy/Marine Corps Achievement Medal, and various unit, campaign, and service awards.