He relieved Rear Adm. Jon Hill during a change-of-office ceremony held Thursday at the Washington Navy Yard, the Naval Sea Systems Command said Thursday.
Small previously held positions at the military branch’s PEO IWS, Naval Surface Warfare Center Dahlgren Division and Missile Defense Agency as well as onboard the USS Camden and USS Iwo Jima.
“I am deeply humbled by the opportunity to carry on [Hill’s] work,” Small said.
The Defense Department appointed Hill as deputy director of the MDA in October following his stint with the PEO IWS where he managed programs to develop, sustain and deliver surface ship combat control systems, electronic warfare and naval gunnery systems for the U.S. Navy.