Photo by Rick Thompson Macyko enjoys the (non-rocking) chair he received as a gift from the command at his Farewell Dinner Tuesday.

Macyko, who will relinquish command of NAS Patuxent River tomorrow to current Executive Officer Capt. Stephen Schmeiser, continued, ‘‘I’ll miss walking around the base and witnessing our caring and compassionate ‘Pax Pros’ family giving their very best personal efforts in service to others, plus observing the mentoring that motivates and inspires our folks to advance up through the ranks.”

He’ll also miss ‘‘the close involvement with a variety of community service partnerships such as the Personal Excellence Partnership, Project Good Neighbor, Environmental Stewardship and the Health, Safety and Fitness initiatives. It’s been fantastic to work with so many kind, generous and selfless individuals in Southern Maryland.”

The Navy’s strong relationship with the local community ‘‘continues to be very positive. I focused on strengthening existing partnerships and exploring opportunities to develop new, emerging partnerships.”

In short, ‘‘It could not have been a more meaningful opportunity for community outreach.”

Looking back on the past 22 months since he took command in May 2008, Macyko takes great pride in improving the quality of life and quality of service at Pax River. ‘‘Both the barracks renovations and the family housing private-public venture with Lincoln Military Housing have received consistently positive feedback,” he said. ‘‘In August 2009, the first Navy families started to move into the new Lovell Cove housing area, which when finished will offer 169 units of top quality housing for our Sailors.”

Part of that quality of life improvement was ‘‘opening the Liberty Center for the single Sailor program in July 2009, and opening the River’s Edge Catering and Conference Center in February 2010.”

Macyko also takes great pride in witnessing professional development. ‘‘I get motivated every time the Navy selects one of our well-deserving individuals for an advancement or for a special program. Limited duty officer (LDO) commissioning ceremonies, Chief Petty Officer Pinning ceremonies, and Petty Officer frocking ceremonies are a win-win for the Sailors and their families as they continue to make lasting contributions to our U.S. Navy and our nation.”

Related to quality of life has been continued development of the individual augmentee (IA) program. ‘‘We start the support continuum with the week-long IA Indoctrination, next we actively support the IAs and their families during their overseas assignments, and welcome them home in style at the IA Homecomings.”

There have been ‘‘town hall meetings to see what IA returnees seek for reintegration assistance when they return to the States,” said Macyko. ‘‘IA coordinators have been identified for each command. We have improved upon our IA tracking system, keep monthly contact with the service member and their family, and follow up after the service member has returned home.”

From an operational point of view, ‘‘We have identified mission customers’ support requirements for new and legacy programs,” Macyko said. ‘‘We have finished a $15 million airfield renovation project, and built mission-unique facilities such as the ski jump ramp, hover pads and the expeditionary airfield for the F-35B Lightning II aircraft.”

Not just the F-35, as important as it is. ‘‘We opened the E-2 Hawkeye⁄Greyhound Integrated Test Facility and the Aircraft Research Support Facility, are nearing completion of Phase One of the Aircraft Prototype Facility, and built Integrated Test Team facilities to support helicopter and unmanned air vehicle programs,” Macyko stated. ‘‘This construction supports our expanding mission customers.”

In Dec. 2009, the NAS Pax River Search and Rescue team completed its aircraft transition from ‘‘the venerable mighty UH-3H Sea King helicopter to the more modern SH-60F Sea Hawk helicopter,” which generated mixed feelings in Macyko. ‘‘I flew both of these carrier-based helicopters for most of my Navy career, so it was a very meaningful farewell to the Sea King which had a 50 year service legacy in U.S. Navy helicopter history.”

One Public Safety project that affected everyone on the base was eliminating the blue and brown badges and instituting the RAPID-Gate system for all who didn’t qualify for a Common Access Card.

‘‘Implementing RAPIDGate happened seamlessly,” according to Macyko. ‘‘The new system strengthened the background security checks process and eliminated redundant badging requirements, which yielded measureable cost savings.”

One of Macyko’s goals in 2008 centered on improving emergency preparedness, and he believes that much progress has been made. ‘‘We’ve thrown different emergency scenarios at our staff to sharpen our skills to quickly respond,” he stated. ‘‘We operationalized our new Emergency Operations Center, strengthened our systems software connectivity, and linked up with Emergency Managers at the state and local level. We synchronize our efforts through the Regional Operation Center and event the Joint Force Headquarters National Capital Region for national events such as the State of the Union Address.”

He continued, ‘‘Emergency preparedness demands tough, realistic, relevant practice. Table top exercises, functional exercises, full-scale exercise are designed to build working relationships before catastrophe strikes so you are not calling somebody for the first time during an emergency.”

Improvements to mass notification are using methods both new and old. The high-tech is the Code Red system, telephone notifications and computer desktop notification. The other method — call it analog for the want of a better term — is the ‘‘Giant Voice.” It is literally notification by voice over loudspeakers that will be mounted on five towers at Pax River and two towers at Webster Field this coming Spring 2010.

Macyko’s conclusion: ‘‘The Pax Pros’ Integrated Training Team (ITT) stretches us beyond our comfort zone, breaks down stovepipes and builds teamwork through every drill we accomplish.”

Educational partnerships are a rewarding aspect of the commanding officer’s job, and it’s one Macyko has truly enjoyed. ‘‘I’ve met many terrific principals, teachers, counselors, and students in both public and private schools. Career expo days, the Read with Me program, Community Leadership in Cyber Knowledge and Safety (CLICKS), the Military Child Education Coalition, the School Liaison Officer, the Blue Angels Demo flight for Nathan Swick, the sixth grade science teacher in the STEM program at Spring Ridge Middle School, and STARBASE Atlantis are several positive examples of educational enrichment for our school children.”

STARBASE Atlantis is now in its third year at Pax River, and last year reached 690 students. ‘‘Fifth-graders get jazzed to learn more about math and science. They learn the forces of flight, the properties of air, Bernoulli’s Principles, and Newton’s Laws of Motion. They ‘fly’ planes, build rockets, practice teamwork, set goals and enjoy working under their new call sign names, such as ‘Bright Star.’

‘‘Teachers and parents note a positive shift in student attitudes and are glad to see children completing challenging tasks with teamwork. I’ve attended several graduation ceremonies and watched them fire rockets. I feel privileged to be part of shaping tomorrow by shaping our youth today. It’s been tremendous fun.”

It was also fun ‘‘to see the different school groups that came to the Air Expo 2009, where they watched the Blue Angels and many other aerial performers thrill the crowds. The Air Expo excites and motivates our youth, exposes them to career options, and teaches them to pursue their dreams and goals.”

Air Expo 2009 ‘‘took six months of planning, and my heartiest praise goes to the planning committee and especially Rebecca March, our events coordinator, who orchestrated the myriad of details to make the ‘show’ a delight for over 110,000 spectators over the Memorial Day weekend.”

‘‘Pax Pros” across the base garnered praise and appreciation from their outgoing commanding officer. ‘‘You have to trust and rely upon your Sailors, Marines, government civilians and contractors to do their very best each and every day,” said Macyko. ‘‘To name just a few, our bright electronics technicians keep the air surveillance radar tweaked to peak performance, our aviation boatswain’s mates rig the E-28 arresting gear at moment’s notice, our air traffic controllers deftly manage thousands of square miles of congested airspace, our Seabees and Public Works team fix water main breaks and perform snow removal, and our Security Team vigilantly patrols our fencelines, rain or shine, 24⁄7⁄365. We all depend on these ‘Pax Pros’ to make this base run smoothly.”

Asked if anything has surprised him, Macyko again had a one-word answer. ‘‘Snow.” This year’s record-breaking winter was a surprise for the sheer quantity of the white stuff. However, being a CO means ‘‘really learning to expect the unexpected, such as back-to-back whiteout blizzards.”

He is an avid supporter of the current ‘‘fleet up” system where the executive officer becomes commanding officer. ‘‘The executive officer gains a wealth of knowledge and experience in shore installation management and develops community relationships that will serve him well as the commanding