ARNOLD AIR FORCE BASE, Tennessee — National Aerospace Solutions LLC, the Test Operations and Sustainment contractor at Arnold Engineering Development Complex, will finish 2018 with a new general manager leading the way.

Richard “Rich” Tighe is joining NAS as the GM, replacing Cynthia Rivera, who will be moving to the Vogtle Nuclear Power Plant Units 3 & 4 construction project, located near Waynesboro, Georgia, to become the project’s Manager of Functional Resources for Bechtel.

“It has certainly been an honor to have been a part of the AEDC family, to have lead our NAS Team for the past two and half years, and to have contributed to our important AEDC mission.” Rivera said. “I am proud of what we have accomplished together, especially how we’ve worked with the Air Force through significant changes and improvements. We have a strong team and I am confident that the positive trajectory that we are on will continue under Rich’s leadership.”

Tighe is no stranger to the Air Force testing world, or AEDC, having served on the Board of Managers for NAS from 2016-2018. Previously he was the manager of Strategy and Business Development for Bechtel’s Nuclear, Security and Environmental global business unit. Tighe also worked for Lockheed Martin at the Department of Energy’s Nevada Test Site for 11 years holding several scientific and management positions, and rising to the position of assistant general manager for High-Hazard Test and Evaluation.

Tighe is a native of Webster City where he was a 1982 graduate from Webster City High School. He earned his B.S. in Physics from Loras College in Dubuque, and his Ph.D. in experimental nuclear physics from the University of Notre Dame. He and his wife, Leslie, a native of Garner, have three grown daughters. Tighe’s father, Dick Tighe, resides in Webster City.

“Leslie and I are excited about the opportunity to live here in Southern Middle Tennessee and becoming a part of the AEDC family,” Tighe said. “I am very familiar with the rich history of AEDC, and what it means to the defense of our country, and the air superiority of the United States. I’m honored to be a part of that.”