Sea Control Wing Atlantic change of command is today

McClain was born in Offutt Air Force Base, Omaha, Neb. The son of a career Army officer, he enlisted in the Navy in 1977, attending the Naval Academy Preparatory School in Newport, R. I. He graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy in 1982 with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Engineering. He holds a Master of Arts Degree in History from the University of Alabama and a Master of Arts in Na-tional and Strategic Studies from the Naval War Col-lege.

McClain earned his wings in October of 1983 and reported to VS-41 for training in the

S-3A Viking. Upon graduation, he reported to the ''Screwbirds'' of VS-33 completing two cruises aboard USS Kitty Hawk (CV-63) to the Western Pacific, Indian Ocean and Mediterranean Sea. In 1987, he reported to VS-41 for duty as an S-3A instructor, serving as officer-in-charge of Naval Flight Officer Standardi-zation.

Upon completing his tour of duty at VS-41, he was assigned to the staff of Commander, Carrier Group Seven (CCG-7) as assistant air operations officer, later serving as the air operations officer. While assigned to CCG-7, McClain served as the anti-submarine un-derwater warfare (ASUW) tactics officer for Battle Force Zulu (Arabian Gulf Battle Force) during Opera-tion Desert Storm aboard USS Ranger (CV-61). He was responsible for the day-to-day ASUW effort against Iraq for the Battle Force ASUWC. In 1992, he completed studies at the U.S. Air Force Air Command and Staff College at Max-well AFB in Montgomery, Ala.

Capt. Theodore Algire

After completing S-3B transition training, McClain reported to the ''Red Griffins'' of VS-38 in 1993 as a department head, serving as both tactics and maintenance officer. After deploying with VS-38 aboard USS Constellation (CV-64), McClain reported to the staff of Commander, Naval Air Force U. S. Pacific Fleet as the S-3B/ES-3A readiness officer, later serving as the air wing programs officer, responsible for Pacific Fleet Carrier Air Wing Readiness and Requirements (AIRPAC). After leaving AIRPAC, McClain reported to the ''Blue Wolves'' of VS-35 in 1998 serving as executive officer, then commanding officer and completing two cruises aboard USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN-72). While commanding officer, the squadron won the Battle ''E,'' the Golden Wrench for maintenance excellence and the Pacific Fleet Retention Award. After his command tour, McClain served as the North Africa/Mid East Branch Chief for the Director, Plans and Policy (EC J5), U.S. European Command in Stuttgart, Germany, from 2001 through 2004, with duties focusing on political-military affairs and counter-terror planning and operations.

He is married to the former Deanna Vargas of San Francisco, Calif. They have three children, Joshua, Jeremy and Allison.

Algire reported to Sea Control Wing Atlantic back in April 2003. During his time as the commodore, Algire has been a key figure in the regrettable but superb management of the Viking Community Sundown Plan. Algire will head to Arlington, Va., for attaché training. Upon completion, Algire will report to Hong Kong, China, to commence his attaché assignment.