Dwight Eisenhower (CVN 69) - Naval Cruise Book

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Commander William R. Needham U.S. Navy Commander Carrier Air Wing Seven Commander William R. Needham graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy in June 1961 and after receiving his wings in October 1962 and completing Maintenance Officer School, he report- ed to VA-44 and later to VA-106 where he flew the A4-D and A4-C. In August 1966, Commander Needham reported to the Air Force Test Pilot School at Edwards AFB, CA., where he gained experience in a variety of aircraft, including the T-38, B-57, F-104, OV-10, C-1A and A-4. In August 1968, Commander Needham was assigned to VA-42 for transition training in the A-6 Intruder. He then became a member of VA-85 and saw combat action in Vietnam. In June 1971, Commander Needham reported to the U.S. Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, CA. Upon receiving his Masters Degree in Financial Man- agement, he reported to Washington, D.C., working under the Chief of Naval Personnel as head of Enlisted Strength and Advancement Section. In January 1975 Commander Needham reported for duty as the Operations Officer for Carrier Air Wing ONE em- barked aboard USS JOHN F. KENNEDY (CV 67). He became Executive Officer and then Commanding Officer of VA-65 embarked aboard USS DWIGHT D. EISENHOWER (CVN-69) from Sep- tember 1976 to March 1979, before assuming command of Carrier Air Wing SEVEN in December 1979. Commander Needham ' s decorations include the Meritorious Service Medal, the Air Medal, Navy Commandation Medal, Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal, the Battle Efficiency Award, the Republic of Vietnam Armed Forces Meritorious Unit Citation, the Vietnam Service Medal and Campaign Stars and the Republic of Vietnam Campaign Medal with Device. Commander Needham is married to the former Karia Greer of Santa Fe, NM. They reside in Virginia Beach, VA. with their two children, Mark, and Meg.

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Captain George D. O ' Brien, Jr. U.S. Navy Executive Officer Captain George D. O ' Brien entered the Naval Academy in July 1956 and was commissioned in June 1960. He reported immediately to flight train- ing, and received his wings in November 1961. After completion of training in the P-2 aircraft, he reported to Patrol Squa- dron SIXTEEN in Jacksonville, Flor- ida. During this tour he completed deployments to Iceland, Bermuda and Cape Town, South Africa, and qualified as Patrol Plane Commander in the P-2 and P-3A aircraft. In December 1965 Captain O ' Brien reported to the Naval Postgraduate School, Monterey, California, where in June 1970, he received a PHD in Aeronautical Engineering. He is a member of SIGMA XI. After graduation he reported to Training Squadron TWENTY THREE for jet transition training, followed by replacement training in the A-6 aircraft in Attack Squadron FORTY TWO. In August 1971 he reported to Attack Squadron THIRTY FOUR where he served as Operations Officer and Aircraft Maintenance Officer, com- pleting two Mediterranean deploy- ments on USS JOHN F. KENNEDY (CV 67). In December 1973 Captain O ' Brien was assigned to Air Test and Evalua- tion Squadron FIVE (VX-5), as A-6 Projects coordinator and Project Officer for RABVAL, a joint Navy Air Force evaluation involving the F-111E and A-6E aircraft. In September 1974 he reported for duty as Readiness Officer for Commander Medium At- tack Wing ONE. In December 1975 Captain O ' Brien was assigned as Executive Officer, and later as Commanding Officer of Attack Squadron THIRTY FIVE, em- barked on USS NIMITZ (CVN 68). In July 1978 he reported to the Naval Air Systems Command as Deputy Pro- gram Manager for the A-6 Aircraft. Captain O ' Brien reported to USS DWIGHT D. EISENHOWER (CVN 69) in September 1980 after completion of Nuclear Power Training. He resides in Virginia Beach, Virginia with his wife Elise and their children George, Caroline, Kevin and Roseleen.

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Rear Admiral C.A. Easterling U.S. Navy Commander Carrier Group Four Rear Admiral Crawford Alan Easterling was assigned as Commander Carrier Group FOUR until June 20 1980 and is currently assigned as Commander Task Force Sixty. Upon completion of the NROTC pro- gram at Rensselaer Polytechnical Insti- tute, he was commissioned as Ensign in 1951. Following an initial tour of duty in USS PERRY (DD-844), he completed flight training and was designated a Naval Aviator. Commands have included Fighter Squadrons 13 and 124, the combat stores ship USS CONCORD (AFS-5) and the aircraft carrier USS FRANKLIN D. ROOSEVELT (CVA-42). He also served as operations officer on USS SARATOGA (CVA-60), as Tactical Air Warfare Analyst to the Deputy Chief of Naval Operations (Air Warfare), and as Executive Assistant to the Assistant Secretary of the Navy (Research and Development). He was also Director, Command, Control, and Information Systems Division in the Office of the Chief of Naval Operations. He holds the degrees of Bachelor of Electrical Engineering from Rensselaer Polytechnical Institute and Master of Science and Engineer in Aeronautics and Astronautics from the Massachu- setts Institute of Technology. Awards include the Meritorious Service Medal (2nd award) and the Legion of Merit (2nd award). Rear Admiral Easterling is married to the former Beverly Sherburne of Jacksonville, Florida. They have two children, a son Alan and a daughter Karen. 10