WASHINGTON -- Rear Adm. Todd M. Evans assumed command of the Naval Sea Systems Command (NAVSEA) Warfare Centers during a ceremony on June 24, 2024, at the Washington Navy Yard, relieving Rear Adm. Thomas J. Dickinson.
Evans previously served as Vice Commander, Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR). Dickinson, who served as Warfare Centers commander since Aug. 11, 2023, has been assigned as Program Executive Officer, Integrated Warfare Systems.
The ceremony was presided over by NAVSEA Commander Vice Adm. James P. Downey and also included remarks from Dr. Brett A. Seidle, Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Navy for Research, Test, Development and Engineering – and a former executive director of the Warfare Centers.
The NAVSEA Warfare Centers execute research, development, test and evaluation efforts for the future Navy as well as provide in-service engineering and logistics support for the operational surface and submarine forces. With headquarters in Washington, D.C., and Newport, Rhode Island, the Warfare Centers are comprised of more than 29,000 scientists, engineers, technicians and support personnel, both civilian and active duty, at eight Surface Warfare Divisions and two Undersea Warfare Divisions across the country. They are led by the commander and the current executive director, Dr. Marty Irvine Jr.
Evans, a native of Steamboat Springs, Colorado, attended the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy in Kings Point, New York, where he received a Bachelor of Science degree in marine engineering and a commission in the U.S. Navy.
His first fleet tour was with the Helicopter Mine Countermeasures Squadron Fourteen (HM-14) “Vanguard” in 1997. Following HM-14, he was selected to the U.S. Navy Test Pilot School in Patuxent River, Maryland. Following graduation, Evans transferred to Rotary Wing Test Squadron HX-21; while attached to HX-21, he earned a Master of Science in systems engineering from Johns Hopkins University.
In 2004, Evans transferred to Mine Countermeasures Squadron Two in Ingleside, Texas, where he became the lead planner and air operations officer and qualified as a staff tactical action officer. He then joined the Helicopter Mine Countermeasures Squadron Fifteen “Blackhawks” as the officer in charge of the Bahrain detachment. Following his department head tour, he attended the U.S. Army Command and General Staff College in Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, where he earned Joint Professional Education 1.
In 2009, he became the executive officer and later, the commanding officer of HM-14. During his tenure, the squadron supported Operation Unified Response and Operation Tomadachi. Following his command tour, Evans returned to Naval Air Station Patuxent River as assistant program manager for logistics and in-service Integrated Product Team (IPT) lead. In 2015, he transferred to support the Presidential Helicopters Program Office (PMA-274) as the in-service IPT lead until being selected in 2016 to serve as executive assistant to Commander, NAVAIR.