New Commander News

Capt. Eric A. Helgen relieved Capt. Benjamin D. Berg as commander, Patrol Forces Southwest Asia (PATFORSWA) aboard Naval Support Activity Bahrain, Thursday, June 16.As the commander of the most extensive Coast Guard base outside of the United States, Berg served as the senior U.S. Coast Guard representative in the U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) area of responsibility, providing support to maritime security operations in the north, central, and south Arabian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman.

Vice Adm. Mary M. Jackson relieved Vice Adm. Dixon R. Smith at a change of command ceremony for Commander, Navy Installations Command (CNIC) March 31, at the Washington Navy Yard. The ceremony included the presentation of colors by the U.S. Navy Ceremonial Guard color guard, national anthem by the U.S. Navy Band and remarks from guest speaker, Chief of Naval Operations Adm. John Richardson. "While here, I've witnessed firsthand the tremendous dedication of our civilians and Sailors who support the fleet, warfighters and their families," said Smith. Smith served as the head of the Navy's entire shore infrastructure for approximately two and a half years and was the fifth commander of CNIC since the command's inception in 2003.

The Chinese navy has announced 10 days of military training in the waters near eastern Hainan Island in the South China Sea starting on Wednesday, amid heightened tensions in the region. Playing down the significance of the exercises, the Chinese military said the drills, started yesterday in the east of Hainan Province, are not directed against neighbours. "The drills are regular military exercises scheduled in the annual plan, without targeting any other country," the Ministry of National Defence said. During the training, 'no vessel is allowed to enter the designated maritime areas', according to China's Maritime Safety Administration, which released the drill plan on Monday.

Vice Adm. Charles W. Ray relieved Vice Adm. Paul F. Zukunft as Commander, Coast Guard Pacific Area and Coast Guard Defense Forces West, in a change of command ceremony at Coast Guard Island in Alameda, Calif., April 22, 2014. “This is not a transition, this is a continuity of leadership,” said Zukunft. Zukunft served as the Pacific Area Commander since April 2012, and is leaving to assume the duties as the Coast Guard Commandant in Washington, D.C., upon Senate confirmation. “It has been a pleasure serving as the Coast Guard’s Pacific Area commander for the past two years, and I look forward to the opportunity to continue my service as the Coast Guard’s 25th Commandant,” said Zukunft. Ray served as the Pacific Area deputy since 2013.

A new commander of Coast Guard units in the Houston-Galveston area & Captain of the Port in those areas has relieved his predecessor during a change-of-command ceremony in Clear Lake. Capt. Brian Penoyer relieved Capt. James Whitehead, who is retiring from the Coast Guard after 26 years of service. As the commanding officer of Sector Houston-Galveston, Penoyer will oversee multi-mission operations from maritime homeland security to maritime environmental response. Prior to assuming command of Sector Houston-Galveston, Penoyer was a U.S.

Navy Secretary Ray Mabus is touring the Pacific to meet with government and military leaders as his department plans to shift more ships, sailors and Marines to the region. Mabus left Washington for Hawaii to meet with Adm. Cecil Haney, the new commander of Pacific Fleet. From there he will stop in Guadalcanal, Australia, East Timor, Brunei, the Seychelles and Cape Verde. He told Navy Times in an interview that the goal of the two-week trip is to build stronger relationships between the host nations and the U.S.

Military Sealift Command’s San Diego-based office, MSC Pacific, changed leadership today as Capt. Sylvester Moore assumed command from Capt. Jerome F. Hamel. The ceremony was held aboard fleet replenishment oiler USNS Yukon at Naval Base Point Loma in San Diego. MSCPAC is responsible for MSC ships operating in the Eastern Pacific and is dual-hatted as Commander, Task Force 33, directing the underway delivery of fuel, provisions, ordnance and towing services to Navy combatants in the U.S. 3rd Fleet area of responsibility.

U.S. Coast Guard Sector Northern New England’s crew will receive a new commander during a change of command ceremony at 11:00 a.m., June 24, 2011 at the Portland Head Light in Fort Williams Park. Rear Adm. Daniel Neptun, commander of the 1st Coast Guard District, will preside over the ceremony. Sector Northern New England's current commander, Capt. James McPherson of Bradley Beach, N.J., will be assigned as chief of staff for the First Coast Guard District in Boston. Capt. Christopher Roberge will assume command of Sector Northern New England. Roberge previously served as chief of prevention for Coast Guard Atlantic Area in Portsmouth, Va.

Military Sealift Command Maritime Prepositioning Ship Squadron One changed leadership June 16 when Navy Capt. Ricks W. Polk relieved Navy Capt. Michael F. Ott in a ceremony aboard squadron flagship USNS 2ND LT John P. Bobo. The ceremony took place while Bobo was underway in the Baltic Sea near the coast of Estonia. MPS Squadron One is a forward-deployed squadron of four government-owned ships: Bobo, USNS PFC Eugene A. Obregon, USNS LCPL Roy M. Wheat and USNS Sisler. The squadron prepositions cargo and supplies at sea in the eastern Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean and Baltic seas, enabling rapid delivery to shore where needed. The commander of MPS Squadron One has tactical command and control of all four ships in the squadron and is embarked aboard Bobo.

Rear Adm. Mark H. Buzby became the 25th commander of the U.S. Navy's Military Sealift Command. The global command, headquartered in Washington, D.C., is the ocean transportation provider for the Department of Defense - responsible for the operation of more than 110 civilian-crewed, noncombatant ships, which support military and humanitarian missions worldwide. Buzby, a 30-year Navy veteran, assumed command during a ceremony aboard Navy hospital ship USNS Comfort in Baltimore.

At a ceremony in the Red Sea onboard the EU NAVFOR Spanish warship Numancia Force Commander Captain (N) Juan Garat Caramé, handed over Command of the FHQ to Commodore Pieter Bindt of the Netherlands. Commodore Bindt will lead the multinational FHQ from the EU NAVFOR Netherlands warship HNLMS Evertsen for the next four months. The EU NAVFOR warships Numancia and Evertsen met north of the narrow straight Bab al Mandeb, in the southern Red Sea. The hand over took place onboard Numancia and the Commanders exchanged information relating to Operation Atalanta and the challenges ahead.

Capt. William C. Kiestler relieved Rear Adm. (sel.) Richard D. Berkey June 26 as Norfolk Naval Shipyard’s (NNSY) 103rd Commander.  In the past three years of Berkey’s command, the shipyard has prepared the carrier USS George Washington (CVN 73) for work in Japan, completed Los Angeles-class submarine work, transitioned to mission funding, and participated in the Navy’s largest consolidation of Intermediate and Depot-level ship repair work.

The leadership of Sealift Logistics Command Europe and Commander, Task Force 63 changed hands at SEALOGEUR headquarters in Naples, Italy. Capt. James E. Tranoris assumed the dual command from outgoing commander, Capt. Nicholas H. Holman. SEALOGEUR, Military Sealift Command's arm in Europe and Africa, oversees at-sea movement of combat cargo for U.S. 6th Fleet. CTF-63 is responsible for the ships and aircraft that provide logistics support to 6th Fleet combatant ships. The commander's area of responsibility includes more than 20 million square nautical miles of ocean, 91 countries and 67 percent of the world's coastlines. It covers roughly half of the Atlantic Ocean, from the North Pole to Antarctica, as well as the Adriatic, Baltic, Barents, Black, Caspian, Mediterranean and North seas.

Sealift Logistics Command Pacific, the San Diego-based U.S. Navy command responsible for operational control of Military Sealift Command ships in the Eastern Pacific, changed command during a ceremony on board fleet replenishment oiler USNS Guadalupe at Naval Station San Diego. SEALOGPAC outgoing commander, Capt. David L. Kiehl, was relieved by Capt. Jerome Hamel during the ceremony. Since assuming command of SEALOGPAC in 2007, Kiehl has overseen a wide range of operations and exercises within the command's area of responsibility, including the deployment of hospital ship USNS Mercy in support of the 2008 Pacific Partnership humanitarian mission, a 2008 Joint Logistics Over the Shore exercise and the 2008 Rim of the Pacific exercise.

Expeditionary Strike Group (ESG) 2 held a change of command ceremony aboard USS Boxer (LHD 4) April 5. Rear Adm. Michelle Howard relieved Rear Adm. Terence McKnight, ESG 2's commander since November 2007. In addition to relieving McKnight as the ESG 2 commander, Howard assumed command of several U.S. 5th Fleet task forces, including Combined Task Force (CTF) 51 and 59, as well as CTF 151, an international maritime coalition created to disrupt, deter and thwart piracy. "I'm very fortunate to follow behind Admiral McKnight," said Howard. "He and the staff have done a terrific job in standing up CTF 151. As commander of ESG 2, McKnight was responsible for all of the amphibious assets based on the U.S. East Coast and upon deploying to the U.S.

During his change of command ceremony, the outgoing Commander of U.S. Naval Forces Central Command, Vice Adm. Kevin Cosgriff, emphasized the need for fostering relationships with coalition partners. "The more Coalition and partner nations collaborate to provide security for the region the more they are able to achieve," he said. During the ceremony, Vice Adm. William "Bill" Gortney relieved Cosgriff as commander of NAVCENT/U.S. 5th Fleet/Combined Maritime Forces (CMF). "The continued presence of coalition forces guarantees maritime security of those who depend on free use of the seas," said Cosgriff. While in command for 17 months, Cosgriff led more than 25…

Captain Charles D. Behrle USN relieved Captain Steven W. Petri USN as 32nd commander of the Naval Surface Warfare Center's Carderock Division October 28th, 2003. Captain Behrle leaves his NAVSEA post as technical director of the DD(X) Program, a vessel destined to be the Navy's premier multi-mission destroyer for the 21st century. A Connecticut native, Captain Behrle (U.S. Naval Academy '80) earned a B.S. in math. He began his career aboard USS STARK (FFG 31). In 1985, he went to the Naval Postgraduate School, Monterey, California for an M.S. in Electrical Engineering. While there, he was selected for engineering duty. Personal decorations include the Meritorious Service Medal (with two gold stars), the Navy Commendation Medal (with three gold stars), and the Navy Achievement Medal.

The U.S. Coast Guard Atlantic Area, Fifth District and Maritime Defense Zone Atlantic Command will welcomed a new commander during a change-of-command ceremony 10:30 a.m. on Tuesday . Vice Admiral James D. Hull will relieve Vice Admiral Thad W. Allen, who is taking the position of Chief-of-Staff for the Coast Guard. Admiral James M. Loy, Commandant U.S. Coast Guard, and Navy Vice Admiral Albert H. Konetzni, Jr., Deputy and Chief of Staff, U.S. Atlantic Fleet are scheduled to preside. Hull comes to the Atlantic Area Command from his assignment as Commander of the Ninth Coast Guard District.

According to reports, the U.S. Department of Defense is planning to implement new labor regulations later this month. But Paul O'Connor, president of the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard's Metal Trades Council, believes the regulations would give the DOD the power to make policy changes that are non-negotiable and override existing contracts. O'Connor fears the new rules in the National Security Personnel System (NSPS) would adversely affect the labor-management relationship that had helped establish Portsmouth as the most efficient shipyard in the country. In a press release issued Wednesday, US Senator John Sununu of New Hampshire, said he stressed the importance of maintaining the shipyard's labor-management relationship during an introductory meeting with Naval Sea System's new commander.

U.S. Coast Guard Maintenance and Logistics Command Atlantic (MLC LANT) will welcome its new Commander during a change-of-command ceremony at the Sheraton Waterside in Norfolk, VA, scheduled for 10 a.m. Friday March 9, 2007. Rear Admiral (Lower Half) Ronald T. Hewitt will relieve Rear Admiral Stephen W. Rochon. RADM Rochon will be retiring in May after more than 36 years of dedicated service to the United States Coast Guard, and has been selected by President Bush as the new Director of the Executive Residence and Chief Usher at the White House. RDML Hewitt most recently held the position of Assistant Commandant for Command, Control, Communications, Computers and Information Technology, and Chief Information Officer, at U. S. Coast Guard Headquarters in Washington, D.C.

PEARL HARBOR, Hawaii (NNS) -- Adm. Gary Roughead assumed command over the Navy’s largest area of responsibility as Commander, U.S. Pacific Fleet, when he relieved Adm. Walter F. Doran July 8 in front of the USS Missouri Memorial on Ford Island. Military and civilian guests gathered not only to say goodbye to Doran but also to welcome Roughead. Speakers included Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Vern Clark and Commander, U.S. Pacific Command Adm. William J. Fallon. Attending dignitaries included various flag and general officers currently serving in the Pacific region, in addition to former Pacific Command and Pacific Fleet commanders. Hawaii Gov. Linda Lingle, U.S. Sen. Daniel Akaka, (D-Hawaii), and civilian and military dignitaries from several Asian and Pacific nations also were present.