Scott A Carlson

Command change

MOORESTOWN — For Navy Capt. Scott M. Carlson, taking over as commanding officer and Aegis technical representative at the James H. Doyle Jr. Combat System Engineering Development Site should be another enjoyable step.

“Every job I took in the Navy was better than the last one,” said Carlson, a California native whose term in Moorestown is for three years.

Carlson, 47, was installed Tuesday in his new post during a change-of-command ceremony at the development site, known commonly as the Cruiser in the Cornfield on Hartford Road. The name refers to the massive forward deckhouse and mast of a cruiser that loom over the nearby cornfields.

The site is near the Navy’s civilian partner, defense contractor Lockheed Martin, one of the biggest employers in South Jersey.

About 200 military personnel and civilians — many connected with Lockheed — gathered under a tent in hot, sunny weather for the ceremony in the shadow of the cruiser. Two naval commanders from Japan and one from Spain also attended the colorful event.

The development site, owned and operated by the Navy, is managed by the Aegis technical representative.

Military and Lockheed workers labor together in continuing the mission that began more than three decades ago. The facility is the land-based test and evaluation site for the development of the Aegis weapons system.

Aegis is considered the premier naval surface defense system. The technology, largely developed in Moorestown, is the basis of the Navy’s air defenses at sea and is the primary defense to airborne attacks.

In an interview after the ceremony Tuesday morning, Carlson said his family had not made a decision yet whether to move to the area.

“Personally, I would like to move,” he said."I am very familiar with the Moorestown area."

Carlson and his wife, Diana, have two children. Abby, a high school student, and Matt, seventh-grader, finished the school year in Annandale, Virginia

Carlson graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy in 1985 with a degree in engineering control systems. He earned a master's in physics in engineering degrees weapons systems.

He served in Japan and on several missions to Washington, DC

Carlson is also continuing a family tradition. His father, Bill, who attended Tuesday's ceremony, is a retired rear admiral.

Carlson said he wanted to join the Navy as a kid but noted: “I didn’t really know what the Navy was about until I joined.

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