Rear Adm. Bret Batchelder, commander of the Navy Warfare Development Command since August 2016, has been appointed as director of the assessment division (N81) within the Office of the Chief of Naval Operations.
The 32-year U.S. Navy veteran is also slated for promotion to the rank of rear admiral, according to a Defense Department news release published Friday.
Batchelder became a naval aviator in May 1986 after he was commissioned in November 1984 through Aviation Officer Candidate school.
During his sea assignments, Batchelder served as a junior officer embarked on USS Midway, department head aboard USS Constellation, executive officer and commanding officer of VFA-105 aboard USS Harry S. Truman and as deputy commander and commander of Carrier Air Wing 11 aboard USS Nimitz.
His assignments ashore include roles as a flight instructor with Training Squadron 7 and as an adversary pilot with VFA-127.
Batchelder was also an FA-18 air combat placement officer with the Navy Personnel Command, executive officer of Marine Fighter Attack Training Squadron and head of Aviation Officer Distribution at the Navy Personnel Command.
He also worked for the Assistant Secretary of the Navy within the FMB-1/fiscal management division of N-821 before he led the Joint Enabling Capabilities Command within the U.S. Transportation Command and the Carrier Strike Group 8 on board USS Harry S. Truman.
