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A naval aviator who grew up in Honolulu and graduated from Punahou School took over command of Naval Support Activity Bahrain on Wednesday, the Navy said.
Navy Capt. Darren B. Guenther was previously assigned to Harvard University, where he completed a master’s degree. He and his wife, Nicole, will be in Bahrain for a two-year tour, the Navy said.
“This job is a huge challenge, but I like challenges and this team likes challenges,” Guenther said at the command change.
“Thank you, Team Bahrain. I look forward to working with you for the next several years.”
NSA Bahrain, in the Persian Gulf, provides operational support to U.S. and coalition forces operating in the Middle East in the U.S. Central Command area of responsibility.
Guenther was designated a naval aviator in 1997. He has more than 2,100 flight hours in the EA-6B Prowler, designed to jam enemy radar and gather signals intelligence, and more than 400 aircraft carrier landings, according to his biography.
He was commissioned through the NROTC program at the University of California at Berkeley, where he graduated with a bachelor’s degree in political science in 1994.
From 2011 to 2013, Guenther commanded Training Squadron 22, based in Texas at Naval Air Station Kingsville. During that tour he oversaw the training of more than 70 aircraft carrier pilots.
Following that tour, Guenther served as air boss aboard the aircraft carrier USS John C. Stennis.
From July 2015, he served as a national security fellow studying international security and politics at the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard.
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