by Joe Wilhelm Jr.
Staff Writer
A former commanding officer of Naval Air Station Jacksonville has returned to Northeast Florida to assume command of the U.S. Navy Region Southeast.
Capt. John “Jack” Scorby left Jacksonville to serve as executive assistant to the Assistant Secretary of the Navy for Installations, Energy and Environment at the Pentagon in Washington, D.C.
Scorby, a rear admiral-select, returned last week to serve as commander for the Navy Southeast Region. The area includes 17 bases throughout seven states and Cuba. The region’s office is located at NAS Jacksonville.
“It’s wonderful to be back in Jacksonville, it’s like home for Chris and I,” said Scorby. “Mayor Brown, this is an awesome city that takes care of our military and we are thrilled to be back.”
Scorby takes command of one of the largest regions in the Navy and one that was used for both military and humanitarian efforts recently.
The region assisted with the cleanup of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico and provided humanitarian aid to Haiti in 2010 after the devastating earthquake that shook the country.
“When I learned that Jack Scorby would be returning to Jacksonville to relieve me, I could not believe my good fortune,” said Rear Adm. Townsend “Tim” Alexander.
“Jack is a superb officer and one who I recognized two years ago as ready to be a flag officer and a regional commander,” he said.
Alexander will be traveling to Norfolk to take command of Navy Region Mid-Atlantic, but Mayor Alvin Brown wanted to make sure that his next assignment wouldn’t be a permanent relocation.
“The military has the best talent for the private sector and we want to try to keep as many people here after they retire from service as we can,” said Brown.
“I was talking to Commander Alexander about his plans after he retires and trying to convince him to return to Jacksonville. It’s about building those partnerships with the military,” he said.
Scorby plans to continue Alexander’s efforts to reduce the region’s dependence on fossil fuels and pursue alternative energy sources, including the solar-powered vehicles that are used at NAS Jacksonville.
Being in town for only a week, Scorby was glad to sit down to a meal of fresh seafood at J.L. Trent’s Seafood & Grill, north of the Yorktown entrance to the base.
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