Navy Capt. Tim Pedersen, TACAMO commander, retires

Published March 19, 2012
By Mike W. Ray
Tinker Public Affairs

TINKER AIR FORCE BASE, Okla. -- Navy Capt. Tim Pedersen retires from the U.S. Navy today after a 28-year military career that included six tours at Tinker Air Force Base.

In a change of command ceremony, Captain Pedersen will hand the reins of Strategic Communications Wing 1 and Task Force 124 to the Deputy Wing Commander, Capt. Charles Baker.

As he prepares to start a new chapter in his life, Captain Pedersen said he has no specific plans. "I'm open to anything and everything," he said, adding, "I want to be part of a team committed to doing great things."

The captain said he and his wife, Dina, intend to remain in Oklahoma because they love the Sooner State. "When we came here in 1993," he said, "we knew nothing about Oklahoma." He has since discovered that the cost of living is relatively low and Oklahomans are friendly. Also, "We live in a great neighborhood" in Edmond "and we attend a great church," First Presbyterian in Edmond.

The Pedersens have two children. Their daughter, Paivy, was graduated with honors from Oklahoma State University and has an internship with Disneyworld in the Product Development Division, and son Zane is a 7th grader.

The captain was born in New Hartford, N.Y., but when he was 4 his family moved to Ridgefield, Conn., where he was reared. His mother still lives there and is expected to attend his retirement ceremony. Commodore Pedersen also has one sibling, a brother.
(The title of commodore is given to a Navy captain who's temporarily commanding a small number of ships or squadrons detached for a special purpose.)

Captain Pedersen's father was a Navy pilot who flew the P-2V Neptune maritime patrol and anti-submarine warfare airplane in the late 1950s. The captain followed in his dad's footsteps. He was graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy and earned his pilot's wings in 1986. He first reported to duty at Norfolk, Va., where he flew the SH-2F Seasprite antisubmarine warfare helicopter before switching to fixed-wing aircraft.

The biggest difference the captain said he has noticed during his Navy career is, "The quality of the people in the military is amazing. They are techno-savvy and just as passionate as I was - if not a cut above - when I started this journey."

As the commander of SCW1 and Task Force 124, Captain Pedersen has been the overall supervisor of almost 1,700 Navy personnel. They include approximately 1,200 stationed at Tinker plus another 500 at three forward operating bases: Travis AFB, Calif.; Offutt AFB in Omaha, Neb.; and Patuxent River Naval Air Station, Md.

Captain Pedersen said he had no difficulty commanding hundreds of personnel at multiple, geographically divided locations because, "We have great leadership.

Commanding officers and chief petty officers make all the tough decisions. The FOBs are led by an officer-in-charge who excel at their job."

He said he has no particular favorite memory of his years in uniform. "There have been too many to recall all of them," he said.

"The good times outnumbered the bad times," Captain Pedersen added. "Sometimes when I'd think I had a bad day, the Good Lord would introduce me to someone who would show me just how blessed I was to serve in the Navy."