[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 52 (Monday, March 26, 2018)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E372-E373]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




  MARKING THE 75TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE PATUXENT RIVER NAVAL AIR STATION

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. STENY H. HOYER

                              of maryland

                    in the house of representatives

                         Monday, March 26, 2018

  Mr. HOYER. Mr. Speaker, I rise to mark the seventy-fifth anniversary 
of the Patuxent River Naval Air Station in Maryland's Fifth District. 
On April 1, 1943, the Navy formally commissioned the installation, 
marking the start of Pax River's long and storied contribution to the 
defense of our nation in times of both war and peace.
  Over the past three quarters of a century, history has been made at 
Pax River again and again. The XP59-A, America's first all-jet 
aircraft, was first tested at Pax River in 1944. The flight test 
program launched in the late 1940's and expanded in the 1950's trained 
many of our nation's top military flight test pilots, including the 
members of NASA's Mercury 7 program. In the 1960's, several key 
developments in helicopter technology, surface-to-air missile systems, 
navigational equipment, and ordinance came out of Pax River and its 
innovative workforce specialized in development and testing. In 1983, 
Lt. Colleen Nevius became the first woman to graduate from the U.S. 
Naval Test Pilot School, making history at Pax River once again. The 
Naval Air Systems Command moved to Pax River in 1998,

[[Page E373]]

making the installation the center of naval aviation.
  Today, Pax River continues to play an outsized role in our defense 
and in the development and testing of new naval air systems. With the 
advent of unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) technology and the emergence of 
Southern Maryland as a UAV development hub, Pax River will surely 
continue to lead the way into the future of naval aviation. I've been 
proud to support these efforts in Congress in recent years.
  Pax River has been so successful throughout its history not only 
because of the men and women who have served there but because of the 
strong support for the installation in the local community. All of 
Southern Maryland is proud of the work being done at Pax River, and St. 
Mary's County residents tell me all the time how honored they are to 
host it. The local alliances that have sprung up over the years to 
bring military, business, and local community leaders together have 
enriched life both on and off the base.
  I hope my colleagues in this House will join me in paying tribute to 
all who have made the Patuxent River Naval Air Station a success for 
seventy-five years, and I join in celebrating this milestone 
anniversary.

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