Press Releases

(WASHINGTON, DC) - Wednesday evening Congressman Rob Wittman (R-VA-01) joined the Chief of Naval Operations, Admiral Gary Roughead, at the Fredericksburg Military Affairs Council dinner to announce the establishment of the Navy Air and Missile Defense Command (NAMDC) on Dahlgren Naval Station. The new command will stand up in early April and will serve as the Navy's lead organization and Center of Excellence for addressing Naval, Joint, and Combined Air and Missile Defense concerns with an initial focus on Ballistic Missile Defense. As the command expands through 2012 and beyond, its charter will include the entirety of Navy Integrated Air and Missile Defense.

 

"I am proud to announce the establishment of this vital Command at Dahlgren. The proliferation of ballistic missiles is a dynamic threat throughout the world, and this Command enhances our Navy's ability to deliver an enduring, operationally effective, and supportable ballistic missile defense capability for the United States, our deployed forces, and our allies and friends," said Wittman.

"Given the current economic situation I am especially pleased that this Command will bring 75 jobs and an estimated payroll of $10 million to the Dahlgren area. This will be a much needed economic boost to the entire region, and I'm happy to have worked with the Navy to make it happen," added Wittman.

CNO Roughead said, "I am pleased therefore tonight, to announce that we are going to stand up a Center of Excellence for our Navy. It will be here in Dahlgren, and it will be the Navy Air and Missile Defense Command. We'll formally stand it up in April, but it will be the place where the Navy comes to bring together the thinking, the ideas, the concept, the intellectual effort for our air and ballistic missile initiatives, efforts and programs so that we can stay in the forefront of this important mission area."

The efforts of the NAMDC will assess, inform, and enable the Navy to establish and implement uniform solutions across a broad range of complex air and ballistic missile challenges. In the face of an austere budgetary and economic climate, this Command will serve as the focal point to synergize Navy efforts in the area of integrated air and missile defense. This relatively new Navy missile defense capability builds upon the operationally-proven and globally-deployed Aegis Combat System. This new command will enhance our Navy's ability to detect, track, intercept, and destroy air and ballistic missile threats while bringing over 75 highly skilled military, civilian, and contracting professionals with an estimated annual payroll of over $10 million to the region

Congressman Rob Wittman represents the First District of Virginia. He was elected to his first full term in November 2008 and serves on the Natural Resources Committee and the Armed Services Committee where he is the Ranking Member of the Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee.