NAVAL AIR STATION PATUXENT RIVER, Maryland – NAS Patuxent River is saddened to announce that former commanding officer Capt. Donald A. Wright III, 83, passed away Oct. 21, 2026.

 

Wright served as commanding officer of NAS Patuxent River from June 28, 1989 to June 30, 1992. But prior to his time as Pax CO, his career was marked by advancements in helicopter systems and tactics, many he would have a hand in.

Born Feb. 2, 1943 in Jersey City, New Jersey Wright was the son of the late Donald Alexander Wright Jr. and Helen Louise (Burger) Wright. He was a naval aviator to his core, stating that while his father served in the Navy he came to the service on his own via ROTC.

“They sent me off to college, and I’ve been doing it ever since,” said Wright in 1989.

 

He earned his bachelor's degree from Miami University of Ohio and later a master's degree in management from the University of Southern California. Commissioned through the Reserve Officers’ Training Corps, Wright earned his wings of gold in 1966 as a helicopter pilot. He spent time in the fleet with notable squadrons such as Helicopter Anti-Submarine Squadron (HS) 9, HS-1, and HS-7, and flew rescue missions from the decks of the USS Essex and HMS Ark Royal.

 

Wright then expanded his experience as a pilot by participating in a personnel exchange tour with the Royal Navy, serving with RN Squadrons 824 and 706.

 

Wright then embarked on a new chapter of his naval career, which would first bring him to Pax River. After graduating from the U.S. Naval Test Pilot School in 1974 with Class 66 he joined Rotary Wing Aircraft Test Directorate, becoming its first administration officer.

 

During this time in his career, Wright would be influential on the development of future helicopter systems of the U.S. Navy. He noted in a 1989 interview that “The helicopter has been an effective weapon system in the Navy since the 1960’s, but you don’t start out as a captain, you start out as an ensign.”

 

He served as the project officer for the Light Airborne Multipurpose System Mark III helicopter engineering development tests from 1975 to 1977. Wright then left Pax for a department head tour with HS-3 out of NAS Jacksonville, Florida, deploying with USS Forrestal, USS Saratoga, USS America, and USS John F. Kennedy before being assigned to the Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR) headquarters in 1982 as the development officer and later deputy program manager for the SH-60F helicopter.

 

Following his promotion to captain in 1985, he attended the Industrial College of the Armed Forces and returned to NAVAIR as the director of the Test and Evaluation Division, and later reported to the President of the board of Inspection and Survey as the senior member of the aviation board at Pax River, where he monitored the engineering development of aircraft weapons systems.

 

He was then tapped to serve as NAS Patuxent River’s commanding officer. Having previously served at the air station twice before, his experience at the command gave him a significant insight to the role.

 

 “I have an understanding of what goes on here, and I’ve seen the changes that go on here,” Wright noted prior to coming onboard as Pax commanding officer. “I am now enthusiastically looking forward to leading the military personnel, government civilians, and contractors who provide the station support to the Naval Air Test Center and tenant commands here at Pax… I can’t think of a better assignment.”

 

He quickly got to work, being known as a tireless promoter of the Navy’s Total Quality Management philosophy of attacking problems at the source and coordination between departments. In his time as Pax River commanding officer, his focus on infrastructure improvements and environmental stewardship would set the tone for the next 35 years of installation management.

 

“The people that are working these processes are the experts, and we need to listen to them; I think we’ve come a long way because of that management philosophy,” Wright said as Pax CO. “It’s very important for a shore installation like Pax River… my job is to be a leader and a manager of this base. We’ve got a lot of things going on here. Sometimes, people think of my job as a troubleshooter, and troubleshooting is just a very small part of it. We’re supposed to be creating process that produce the results we want.”

 

As a test-pilot-turned-installation-CO, his efforts were thoroughly focused on Pax River’s support of the Research, Test, Development and Evaluation mission, saying presciently of Pax in 1992 that “We’re going to have a lot of change as the world changes. If we no longer need to do a certain research and development and engineering, then we’ll stop doing it. We’ll be able to respond to things that we need to do, new things that come along.”

 

As Wright concluded his career as Pax River’s commanding officer 34 years ago, he stated he wanted to be remembered as a problem solver, making necessary changes to help NAS Patuxent River meet the goals of the future.

 

“And the future involves more than ever the great partnership between the base and the community.”

 

Wright is survived by his beloved wife, Elizabeth Ann Wright; his three sons, Donald, Scott, and Matthew Wright; seven grandchildren; and his siblings Doug Wright, Linda Clark, Dave Wright, Rich Wright, Laura Gawel, and Karen Huysers.