PRESS RELEASE
Naval Air Station Meridian will welcome its 28th commanding officer during a ceremony at 10 a.m. on Friday, June 26, 2026. Captain Luke H. Davis will be relieved by Captain Nathan K. Moore. Davis will also retire from the U.S. Navy after 26 years of honorable and dedicated military service.
Captain Davis served as commanding officer of NAS Meridian from July 2023 to June 2026 directing the execution of a $34.4 million annual budget and managed assets valued at an impressive $2.4 billion. His expert oversight empowered a team of 377 personnel to deliver world-class facilities, services, which are instrumental in generating 71,715 sorties and culminating the successful qualification of 307 new Naval aviators and the graduation of nearly 9,000 enlisted personnel. He advocated secure crucial operational support for Training Air Wing One and 14 regional and federal airports, paving the way for the completion of the national airspace system modification and the modernization of the control facility. He personally met with officials of the Mississippi military community’s council, Mississippi development authority, and the office of the governor and secured a $3 million grant application to build a 20-mile wildlife exclusion fence around Meridian’s airfield. Furthermore, his leadership was instrumental in expanding the military working dog program with the installation’s first explosive dog team and he spearheaded a $5.4 million project for critical barracks renovations and staunchly advocated for continued investment to enable student throughput.
Captain Moore was commissioned in 2001 after graduating from the United States Naval Academy with a Bachelor of Science degree in Computer Science. Following initial training in Pensacola, Florida as a Naval aviator, Moore was selected to fly the SH-60B helicopter and reported to the HSL-48 “Vipers” for his initial sea tour.
Subsequent sea duty assignments include a return to the HSL-48 “Vipers” as Seahawk Weapons and Tactics Instructor, and service with the HSM-51 “Warlords” as a department head. These tours spanned multiple deployments while embarked aboard the USS O’Bannon (DD 987), USS Leyte Gulf (CG 55), and USS Mustin (DDG 89).
Ashore, Captain Moore served as a flight instructor with the HSL-40 “Air Wolves,” attended the Navy Command and Staff College in Newport, Rhode Island, served as the Nuclear Strike Advisor to the Commander of U.S. Strategic Command in Omaha, Nebraska, and the HT-28 “Hellions” as Executive and Commanding Officer. Following his command tour, Captain Moore reported aboard the USS Ronald Reagan (CVN 76) and served as Navigator and Senior Watch Officer from May 2021 to August 2023.
Prior to arriving at NAS Meridian, Moore was assigned to NATO’s Allied Maritime Command from September 2023 to May 2026 where he serves as a Staff Officer for NATO’s Major Joint Exercises.
Captain Moore holds a master’s degree from the Naval War College with a focus on Middle Eastern Studies. He has accumulated over 3,200 flight hours and hundreds of small deck landings in the TH-57, SH-60B and MH-60R helicopters. He has been privileged to serve on several outstanding teams, culminating in four Battle ‘E’ unit awards. His personal awards include the Defense Meritorious Service Medal, Meritorious Service Medal (two awards), and Air Medal, among other personal and unit awards.
He assumed command of NAS Meridian in June 2026.
