West Bethesda, Md. –
Capt. Matthew L. Tardy relieved Capt. Todd E. Hutchison as Naval Surface Warfare Center, Carderock Division’s Commanding Officer (CO) during a change-of-command ceremony held in West Bethesda, Maryland, on May 12.
Hutchison, who took command in July 2020 as Carderock’s 39th commanding officer, described his three-year tour at Carderock with a single word: “Amazing.”
When he first came onboard, the country was in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic. Hutchison acknowledged the challenges of taking command during that time, but he said getting out and meeting people was still one of his priorities.
“I did not let the pandemic deter me with trying to engage with the workforce in a meaningful way, whether that be dialing up early to Teams calls, staying on late, setting up time to have conversations or mentorships with people to really just get to know them more,” Hutchison said.
When the pandemic restrictions lifted a bit, Hutchison scheduled a walk through every Monday of a different space on base, having now been to almost every building at West Bethesda at least once, if not multiple times, and out to all of the detachments, several of them a couple of times.
“I have been asked how I have impacted the strategic direction of a command of nearly 3,000 people that are located in seven different states, and my answer was ‘one person at a time,’” he said, adding that he not only had to intentionally think from a strategic command level, but also had to engage at the deck-plate level. “I have really tried to get myself out there as much as I could, and I think that has made a big difference, and the workforce has been extremely receptive.”
Hutchison talked about several of the technical accomplishments at Carderock during his time as commanding officer, such as repairing an underwater acoustic measurement system, building a scale model of a part of the new Columbia-class submarine, conducting full-scale ship shock trials for Ford-class carriers and watching the Orion space module launch into space, something Carderock engineers modeled and tested years ago having now come to its destination.
“Pulling all that together, that work literally goes from operations and testing at the ocean's depths, to the surface of the ocean anywhere in the world, to Marine Corps support ashore, to the far side of the moon,” Hutchison said.
While the technical accomplishments are a highlight of anyone’s career, Hutchison recognized the people in the “world-class” business side of Carderock and the innovation they tirelessly show, from the Comptroller office to Contracting, Information Technology, Labor and Employee Relations, Corporate Communications, etc.
“Those threads of integrity, innovation and excellence exemplified by the great work they do extend to every department, division, detachment, branch, team and employee in this incredible Carderock organization,” Hutchison said.
While he is excited to begin his new position as the Major Program Manager for Surface Ship Modernization, Hutchison said he will be left with many friendships and memories, for which he is very grateful.
“The friendships and bonds I have made at Carderock mean the world to me,” he said. “This is a trust and relationship business. As I leave, I will be left with the memories of how closely I got to work with Larry Tarasek, Steve Ouimette, Emily Nash, Dianna Pleasants, BethAnn Flannery, and the list goes on-and-on of people who have contributed to the great work we have done over the past three years, and who were here long before me and will be here after I leave that have continued to do this incredible Carderock work to support the fleet.”
His advice to Tardy is to engage the Carderock team at every level.
“Get out there and meet the team. You can see the pride that everybody has in their work, and that is so encouraging,” he said. “In this job, you’ll not only see the importance of your role in influencing the strategic direction of the command, but also how you interact with employees, listening to and addressing their challenges, and celebrating their successes.”
Coincidentally, Hutchison will be replacing Tardy as Program Manager of Surface Ship Modernization. He said looks forward to the opportunity to get ships back in full-operating condition to the fleet commanders who depend on those ships to do our nation’s tasking.
“What attracted me to this position is that it is a very fleet facing, direct impact job,” Hutchison said. “It is very real, in your face, tangible type work, and I am looking forward to that.”
Tardy became the Program Manager of Surface Ship Modernization in 2020, and believes that experience will be beneficial during his time as Carderock’s 40th commanding officer.
“As a program manager, recognizing the challenges associated with running the Cruiser Modernization Program gives me a great appreciation for what program managers have to go through in order to execute programs,” he said. “Having that experience will help me as the Carderock Commanding Officer as we support the various programs throughout the Navy.”