The Blue Angels have a new commanding officer who will lead the team for two upcoming seasons.

Chief of Naval Air Training Rear Adm. Robert Westendorff announced at a small ceremony Tuesday inside the National Naval Aviation Museum that he and other high ranking Navy officials had selected Cmdr. Alex “Scribe” Armatas for the job.

Armatas will be the next commanding officer and future flight leader for the Blue Angels during the Navy flight demonstration squadron’s 2023 and 2024 air show seasons.

“It is an absolute honor to be here,” Armatas said. “It is very humbling. … It is a flood of emotions, just all different sorts. This is extremely exciting for me.”

And he was more than happy to explain the origins of his call sign.

“I’m not a big drinker, just never really got into that. So, I’ve always been the one who’s been around and able to remember everything that happened,” he said, explaining that he has been the “keeper of history,” or rather the “scribe.”

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Westendorff said Armatas was selected for Blue Angels flight leader based not only on his flying abilities but also due to his high-level leadership skills.

The team’s current commanding officer and flight leader, Capt. Brian Kesselring, joined Westendorff at the podium.

“I can think of no better person to fill my shoes and take the Blue Angels to the next level than Cmdr. Alex Armatas,” Kesselring said. “I had an opportunity to work with him, alongside of him, witness his outstanding career and could have no more confidence or feel more secure with his leadership going into our 77th season in the 2023 show season.”

To be eligible to even apply to become the Blue Angels commanding officers, naval aviators are required to have completed a minimum of 3,000 flight hours and either be a current or past commander of a tactical jet squadron.

The Navy declined to comment on the total number of active-duty aviators who applied for the job.