Richard (Rick) Young

Biography

Mr. Richard L. (Rick) Young is the Director of Science & Technology (S&T) at Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division Webster Outlying Field (NAWCAD WOLF). The WOLF S&T Office facilitates innovation at WOLF by executing science and technology projects to include basic/applied research, technology transitions, rapid prototyping collaborations, Revitalization & Recapitalization (R&R) lab improvements, as well as workforce development opportunities to include higher education degrees and developmental rotations. 

Mr. Young has 20 years of experience which includes 13 years of civilian service in the U.S. Navy preceded by 7 years as a contractor.  From 2005 to 2008, Mr. Young worked as a network administrator on the Marine Corps Distance Learning Program in WOLF’s Special Mission Communication Solutions (SMCS) Division. In 2008, he transitioned to a Command, Control, Communication, Computers, Intelligence (C4I) role, which saw him traveling all over the country and the world, making multiple trips to Germany, Bahrain, Qatar, Hawaii, Florida, North Carolina, California, and New Mexico as a contractor supporting organic Lead Systems Integrator (oLSI) approaches for United States Special Operations Command (USSOCOM) customers.

In 2011, Mr. Young moved to NAVAIR as a Civilian in an Operations Research role, learning how NAVAIR and the Commands were structured, as well as the metric data leadership routinely tracked and monitored to ensure a healthy well rounded workforce to support naval missions.

In 2012, Mr. Young returned to the SCMS team as a Government oLSI. Over the next 6 years, he learned how to become a government oLSi engineer while supporting the Air force Special Operations Command (AFSOC), Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), and United States Secret Service (USSS) Command and Control, Video Teleconferencing, and Networking projects.

In 2018, Mr. Young took on a new role as a Supervisory Lead for the Information Technology/Laboratories Support at the WOLF Command level. This position allowed him to understand the greater view of WOLF, gave him better insight into the capabilities across WOLF Divisions, and allowed him to gain insight into the NAWCAD organization.

As of January 2022, Mr. Young leads Innovation / Science & Technology projects for WOLF and serves on the WOLF Leadership Team. 

Mr. Young obtained a B.S. in Computer Science from Frostburg State University in 2004. In July 2016, he graduated from Florida Institute of Technology with a Master of Science in Computer Information Systems. Since 2017, Mr. Young has been serving as an adjunct professor in computer science and computer programming for the College of Southern Maryland. In addition, Mr. Young has been serving as an adjunct professor in computer science for St. Mary’s College as of 2024.