WASHINGTON - Rear Adm. James P. Downey relieved Rear Adm. Brian K. Antonio as the new program executive officer (PEO) for Aircraft Carriers during a change of office and retirement ceremony June 21 at the Washington Navy Yard.
Downey reports to PEO Carriers after serving as the commander, Navy Regional Maintenance Center, and as Naval Sea Systems Command deputy commander for Surface Warfare since 2016.
“I’m excited to be part of this legacy,” said Downey. “The aircraft carrier is our U.S. Navy’s centerpiece, our flagship, and a constant reminder to the rest of the world of our enduring maritime presence and influence. These ships touch every part of our Navy’s mission to project power, ensure sea control and deter our adversaries.”
Over the course of his 32-year career, Downey has served in a wide variety of surface warfare officer (SWO) and engineering duty officer (EDO) assignments. His operational assignments include SWO on board USS Hayler (DD 997), intelligence briefing officer to the commander-in-chief, Combined Forces Command, U.S. Forces Korea, Seoul, Korea; and multiple deployments afloat in the North Atlantic, Baltic, Arctic Circle and Pacific.
Downey’s EDO assignments include assistant program manager for surface and subsurface integration for GPS and navigation sensor system interface programs, leading Tomahawk integration; as chief engineer for high assurance systems at the Defense Information Systems Agency and the National Security Agency; as officer in charge of Space and Naval Warfare Systems Command, Yokosuka, Japan; as CVN 21 program chief engineer, principal assistant program manager and warfare systems director; as CG(X) major program manager (MPM); and as MPM for the DDG 1000 program, including delivery of the first ship of the class.
Downey graduated from the State University of New York, Albany, New York, in 1986 with a Bachelor of Science degree in economics and computer science and was commissioned in 1987. He holds a Master of Science degree in computer science from the Naval Postgraduate School, Monterey, California.
Following the ceremony, Antonio retired from the Navy after serving 36 years.
“Success is a team sport,” said Antonio. “The only reason I’m standing here today is with the help of others, including all of you, as well as an incredible program executive office for Aircraft Carriers, carrier engineering team and teammates from NAVSEA, Naval Reactors, and industry. Over the past three years, you have filled me with pride with your grit, determination and, simply put, unprecedented accomplishments.”
During Antonio’s three-year tour as PEO Carriers, the command achieved several significant milestones.
In 2017, the lead ship in the first new class of aircraft carriers in 40 years, USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN 78), was delivered and commissioned. Less than a week after President Trump placed the ship into service, CVN 78 exercised some of her cutting-edge technologies, recovering and launching F/A-18 Hornets with her Advanced Arresting Gear and Electromagnetic Aircraft Launch System. USS Enterprise (CVN 65) was decommissioned in 2017 after more than 51 years of active service. Also during 2017, USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN 72) finished her midlife refueling complex overhaul (RCOH), just as USS George Washington (CVN 73) was beginning her RCOH. In 2018, the future USS John F. Kennedy (CVN 79) achieved her 75 percent erected milestone, and USS George H.W. Bush (CVN 77) hosted MV-22 aircraft for testing and evaluation.
Culminating a very busy three years was the January 2019 signing of an historic two-ship contract for the procurement of the future USS Enterprise (CVN 80) and the yet-to-be-named CVN 81, as well as the island landing ceremony for CVN 79 in May.
Antonio previously served as PEO Littoral Combat Ships, as the major program manager for future aircraft carriers from 2007 to 2011, and he held various ship maintenance, modernization and acquisition roles throughout the Navy.
PEO Aircraft Carriers is responsible for the total life cycle management of the U.S. Navy's fleet of 11 nuclear-powered aircraft carriers, from construction to inactivation. PEO Aircraft Carriers focuses on the design, construction and delivery, and life-cycle support of all aircraft carriers and the integration of systems into aircraft carriers.
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