Former Army Helicopter Pilot Gives Way to Academy Grad

In an in-flight change of command ceremony, U.S. Naval Academy graduate Cmdr. Travis Hartman took over command of the U.S. Naval Test Pilot School from Lt. Col. Aaron Kia at Naval Air Station Patuxent River on June 27.

During the airborne exchange, Kia initially led the formation flight in a C-12 Huron with Hartman on his wing flying an F/A-18 Super Hornet. The change of command occurred when Hartman’s Super Hornet took over the lead ahead of Kia’s C-12 signifying the change in leadership before landing.

Cmdr. Hartman hails originally from Missouri and graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy in 2005 and the USNTPS in 2014. He began flight test with Air Test and Evaluation Squadron (VX)23. After earning a master’s degree in engineering science at the U.S. Naval Postgraduate School, he served with Strike Fighter Squadron 146 aboard USS Nimitz (CV68). In 2021 he served as deputy program manager for the Next Generation Air Dominance program with the Program Executive Office for Tactical Aircraft Programs. In 2022 he was appointed executive officer at the USNTPS.

On assuming command, Cmdr. Hartman said, “I am honored to be counted [as part of the test community] and commit to ‘embracing the orange’ to earn my place in this much-respected company.”

Lt. Col. Kia is originally from Hawai’I and is a U.S. Army acquisition officer and only the third Army commander in USNTPS history. As a helicopter pilot he was commissioned as second lieutenant in the Aviation Branch of the Army Reserve Officer Training Corps in 2004 with a B.S. in aerospace engineering from the University of Southern California. Like Hartman, he also graduated from USNTPS in 2014 and earned a master’s degree in engineering systems from the U.S. Naval Postgraduate School in 2016. He developed weapons systems for the U.S. Special Operations Command before assignment to USNTPS. He will be advancing to the Program Executive Office for Aviation at Redstone Arsenal in Huntsville, Alabama.

Lt. Col. Kia said, “Command is truly the opportunity of a lifetime. It has been an honor to serve with [Hartman] and I’m excited to see you lead USNTPS into the future.”

FMI:  www.navair.navy.mil/news/