Ex-NASM instructor to lead VT-9

Training Squadron 9 (VT-9) at Naval Air Station Meridian, Miss., is holding a change of command ceremony Nov. 16. Cmdr. John Eveges will be relieved of command by Cmdr. Brian Baumgaertner. Cmdr. Baumgaertner was commissioned through Officer Candidate School in April 2002 at NAS Pensacola, Fla.; and designated a Naval Aviator in 2004. In May 2008, Baumgaertner reported to VT-7 at NAS Meridian, where he was designated an instructor pilot in the T-45C Goshawk. In August 2015, Baumgaertner reported to Air Command and Staff College at Maxwell Air Force Base, Ala., and earned his master's in Military Operational Art and Science. Baumgaertner comes to Mississippi from the U.S. Cyber Command at Fort Meade, Md., where he served as the Deputy Division Chief for simulation and exercises. He has more than 3,300 hours in various Navy and Air Force aircraft, and more than 245 carrier arrested landings. Eveges served as the CO since August 2017, and will retire after 20 years of service. (Source: Meridian Star 11/15/18)