THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, July 18, 1996 TAG: 9607180313
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A5 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: STAFF AND WIRE REPORT
DATELINE: PENSACOLA, FLA. LENGTH: 53 lines
A Persian Gulf War veteran will be the Blue Angels' next commanding officer as the Navy precision flying team continues to recover from a leadership crisis.
The flight demonstration squadron Wednesday also announced the selection of two other pilots, one from Virginia, as part of a normal rotation that replaces half of the six-member team every year.
Cmdr. George B. Dom of Greensburg, Pa., will succeed Capt. Greg Wooldridge, who took over as interim leader after Cmdr. Donnie Cochran resigned May 28, citing trouble handling the team's flying maneuvers.
``So much of this is timing,'' Dom said from his home in Orange Park, near Cecil Field in Jacksonville, where he is stationed. ``I think every naval aviator who watches the Blues fly wishes that they could participate in that program.''
The Duke University graduate, now commander of Fighter Attack Squadron 37, was chosen from among 10 candidates and will fly the No. 1 jet. The Blue Angels fly F/A-18 Hornets and are based at Pensacola Naval Air Station.
Also joining the squadron will be Lt. Mark Dunleavy of Virginia Beach, now at Cecil Field with the Strike Fighter Weapons School, and Lt. Doug Verissimo of Falmouth, Mass., attached to Strike Fighter Squadron 125 at Lemoore Naval Air Station, Calif.
Dunleavy, an F/A-18 pilot, is the son of retired Vice Adm. Richard Dunleavy, of Virginia Beach, who commanded the Atlantic Fleet Naval Air Force, headquartered in Norfolk. The elder Dunleavy also served as assistant chief of naval operations for air warfare.
``He did it on his own,'' the elder Dunleavy said from his Sandbridge home. ``I had nothing to do with it. We're mighty proud of him.''
The new pilots' positions will be decided later. One will serve as air-show narrator in 1997 before moving into a flying position, which also is part of the normal rotation. The current narrator, Lt. Scott Beare of Alexandria, Va., will move into a flying position next year.
The three new pilots will join the team when it concludes its 50th anniversary season in November. The squadron will train during the winter at El Centro Naval Air Facility, Calif.
Cochran, of Pelham, Ga., began having problems last year when he ordered the team to land during a performance at Oceana Naval Air Station, because he had incorrectly lined up a maneuver. He canceled shows for the next two weeks for additional practice.
Wooldridge, base commander at Lemoore, did a regular two-year tour as leader of the Blues in 1990-92. The Springfield, Ill., native also returned for five months in 1993 when Cmdr. Robert E. Stumpf was grounded during an investigation of his possible involvement in the 1991 Tailhook sexual harassment scandal. Stumpf resumed his post after the Navy cleared him.
KEYWORDS: BLUE ANGELS COMMANDER by CNB