Loran Station Kodiak to Hold Change of Command

The Coast Guard Loran Station here will hold a Change of Command Ceremony at 9 a.m. Tuesday. Senior Chief Robert A. Merick will relieve Chief Richard J. Isabelle as Commanding Officer of the unit during the ceremony. Isabelle, of Springfield, Mass., will serve as executive officer of Loran Station Port Clarence. Isabelle’s previous duty stations include Loran Station Marcus Island, Japan, and the Coast Guard Cutter Tahoma in New Bedford, Mass. He graduated from Springfield Technical Community College with an associate’s degree in Electronics Technology in 1985 followed by a degree from the Advanced Integrated Electronics School in Memphis, Tenn. Merick, of Sikeston, Mo., most recently served at the Kodiak Communications Station as the Electronics Technician in Charge. His previous duty assignments include the Coast Guard cutters Venturous and Steadfast out of Astoria, Ore., and the cutter Ironwood decommissioned in 2000. After attending Electronics Technician “A” school in 1987 and serving at Communications Station Kodiak, Merick graduated ETC-7 Advanced Electronics Training in San Diego in 1990. Loran Station Kodiak provides a continuous, reliable navigation signal to mariners. Twenty-four U.S. Loran-C stations work in partnership with Canadian and Russian stations to provide coverage in Canadian waters and in the Bering Sea. Loran-C provides better than 0.25 nautical mile absolute position accuracy for suitably equipped users within the published areas.