By Lieutenant Junior Grade Candice Pedraza

VAQ-131 Public Affairs

Electronic Attack Squadron (VAQ) 131 gave a salute and farewell to Commander William Park as he passed the Lancer torch to Commander Brad Jensen during a Nov. 27 change of command.

Captain Thomas Tack, Commander, Electronic Attack Carrier Air Wing Pacific, was keynote speaker.

Under Park’s leadership, the Lancers were awarded the 2006 Admiral Arthur W. Radford Award, 2006 West Coast Battle ‘E,’ 2007 Commander Pacific Fleet Retention Excellence Award, 2007 Commander Electronic Attack Wing Pacific Maintenance Squadron of the Year Award, Blue Medical ‘M’ and the Chief of Naval Operations Silver Enlisted Aviation Warfare Specialist pennant.

Jensen was designated a Naval Aviator in June 1990. Early assignments took him to Carrier Airborne Early Warning Squadron 110 at NAS Miramar, Calif., for E-2C Hawkeye training and to VAW-117 from June 1991 to June 1994. He went to Training Squadron 4 in Pensacola where he was granted a transition to the EA-6B community.

After receiving TA-4J advanced jet transition training with VT-7 in Meridian, Miss., he reported to VAQ-129 in June 1997 for his initial EA-6B training syllabus. Awaiting fleet assignment from VAQ-129, he augmented VAQ-133 and deployed to Incirlik Air Base, Turkey from October to December 1998 in support of Operation Northern Watch.

As a landing signals officer on USS Constellation, he successfully “waved” aboard the first night barricade of an F/A-18C Hornet and over 10,000 mishap-free carrier-arrested landings.

Jensen served at VAQ-131 from December 2000 to September 2003 for his department head tour, deploying twice in support of Operations Southern Watch and Iraqi Freedom.

After a three-month augmentation tour with the Electronic Attack Weapons School, Jensen reported to U.S. Pacific Command, Camp Smith, Hawaii. He served there until reporting to the Lancers as Executive Officer in August 2006.