15 September 2023 USS Bainbridge Holds Change of Command Ceremony Cmdr. Thad D. Tasso relieved Cmdr. James C. Hagerty as commanding officer of the Arleigh Burke-class destroyer USS Bainbridge (DDG 96) during a change of command ceremony held at Naval Station Norfolk, on Sept. 15th.A native of Baldwin, NY, Hagerty took command of Bainbridge in February 2022 and...
16 June 2023 USS Cole Holds Change of Command Ceremony In front of special guests and crewmembers, Cmdr. Timothy Clark relieved Cmdr. James Welsch as commanding officer of USS Cole (DDG 67) today during a change of command ceremony aboard Naval Station Norfolk. Welsch took command of Cole in Feb. 2022. During his command, he led the Cole crew through a...
02 June 2023 Naval Surface Force Atlantic Holds Change of Command Ceremony Commander, Naval Surface Force Atlantic (SURFLANT), held a change of command ceremony aboard the amphibious assault ship, USS Wasp (LHD 1), June 2.Rear Adm. Joseph Cahill became the 61st SURFLANT commander, relieving Rear Adm. Brendan McLane during the time-honored ceremony. Adm. Daryl Caudle,...
15 May 2023 SURFLANT Wraps Up Surface Line Week 2023 Commander, Naval Surface Force Atlantic (SURFLANT) Surface Line Week 2023 ended after a week of energetic competition between multiple sea and shore commands, May 12. This year’s Surface Line Week iteration saw Sailors participate in more than 20 camaraderie-building events and competitions. USS...
04 May 2023 SURFLANT Hosts Commander’s Training Symposium 23-1 Rear Adm. Brendan McLane, commander, Naval Surface Force Atlantic (SURFLANT), hosted a bi-annual, two-day Commander’s Training Symposium onboard Joint Expeditionary Base Little Creek, April 25-26. The conference provided a venue for leaders to focus on the symposium’s key topics and an opportunity...
28 March 2023 USS Carney Holds Change of Command The Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Carney (DDG 64) held a change of command ceremony, on Mar. 24.Cmdr. Jeremy Robertson relieved Capt. Aaron Anderson as commanding officer of Carney during the underway ceremony. “I’m pumped to be a part of Carney Nation … you wear that ballcap with...
14 March 2023 USS Arleigh Burke (DDG 51) Receives Service Life Extension OPNAV N96 recently approved a five-year service life extension for USS Arleigh Burke (DDG 51). First-in-class Arleigh Burke’s estimated service life was 35 years, expected to expire in FY 2026, but efforts began early last year to request additional service time for the ship. The approval...
10 February 2023 USS Porter holds Change of Command Ceremony Cmdr. Joseph Hamilton relieved Cmdr. Christopher Petro as USS Porter (DDG 78) commanding officer Feb. 2, during a change of command ceremony held aboard Naval Station Norfolk. "It has been one of the great honors of my life to serve as executive officer and commanding officer on Porter," said Petro...
02 December 2022 SURFLANT Hosts its Inaugural Junior Officer Training Symposium Rear Adm. Brendan McLane, commander, Naval Surface Force Atlantic (SURFLANT), hosted the inaugural SURFLANT Junior Officer Training Symposium (JOTS) onboard Joint Expeditionary Base Little Creek-Fort Story, Dec. 1.The symposium focused on building upon junior surface warfare officer’s skill sets in...
13 October 2022 USS Cole Honors their Heroes The guided-missile destroyer USS Cole (DDG 67) crew, past, and present, gathered alongside guests and families of the Cole heroes on Oct. 12, to commemorate the 22nd anniversary of the ship's bombing. More than 30 Gold Star family members attended the ceremony held at the USS Cole Memorial aboard...
21 September 2022 USS Bataan Celebrates 25th Birthday The crew of USS Bataan (LHD 5) celebrated the ship’s 25th birthday during a ceremony onboard the ship at Naval Station Norfolk, Sept. 20. More than 50 original plank owners and maiden voyagers attended the ceremony in which the ship’s second command master chief, retired Force Master Chief Bob...
08 August 2022 Namesake’s Great-Great-Grandnephew Baptized Aboard USS Laboon Continuing a time-honored tradition aboard USS Laboon (DDG 58), a bell baptism service was celebrated Aug. 5 on the ship’s foc'sle for the great-great- grandnephew of the ship’s namesake, Capt. John Francis Laboon. A tradition that dates back centuries to the British Royal Navy, baptisms were...
08 August 2022 USS Vella Gulf (CG 72) Decommissioned With plank owners and former crew members looking on, the crew of USS Vella Gulf (CG 72) decommissioned their ship at a Naval Station Norfolk, ceremony Aug. 4. The event comes just months before the ship’s 29th commissioning anniversary. Hundreds gathered in the August heat to celebrate the ship’s...
29 June 2022 USS Lassen Sets Example for Self-Sufficiency at Sea In the face of debilitating obstacles and hurdles, Sailors on board the guided-missile destroyer USS Lassen (DDG 82) devised a creative solution to restore the ship’s engineering plant to bring Lassen back into the fight.“From the research, to the planning, to the execution, this fix is the epitome...
16 May 2022 Destroyer Forrest Sherman Receives Painting of Former Namesake Ship A former operations officer of destroyer USS Forrest Sherman (DD-931) gifted a painting to the crew of the Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Forrest Sherman (DDG 98), April 27.Retired U.S. Navy Cmdr. George Keller presented the painting, a departure gift he received when concluding...
11 May 2022 SURFLANT Hosts Commander's Training Symposium Rear Adm. Brendan McLane, commander, Naval Surface Force Atlantic (SURFLANT), hosted the bi-annual, two-day leadership training symposium, May 5-6. The first day was held at Drexler Manor Conference Center on Joint Expeditionary Base Little Creek, and the second day on Naval Support Activity...
02 December 2021 DESRON 22 Performs Change of Command Capt. Milciades “Tony” Then relieved Capt. Scott Jones as commodore, Destroyer Squadron (DESRON) 22 during a change of command ceremony, Dec. 1. The Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Mitscher (DDG 57) hosted the ceremony...
10 November 2021 USS Winston S. Churchill Holds Change of Command Cmdr. Brian Anthony relieved Cmdr. Timothy Shanley as commanding officer of USS Winston S. Churchill (DDG 81) during a Nov. 10 change of command ceremony at Naval Station Mayport. Following the ship’s 2019 maintenance availability and a rigorous Basic Phase, Shanley assumed command in May...
26 October 2021 Navy Reservists Return to SURFLANT Ships after COVID-19 Hiatus Navy reservists assigned to the Commander, Naval Surface Force Atlantic Maintenance Execution Team (CNSL MET) completed various projects aboard the amphibious transport dock ship USS Mesa Verde (LPD 19), Oct. 17-19.The presence of reservists on the waterfront comes after more than a year where, as a...
21 October 2021 Thomas Hudner Coxswain Takes Unique Path to Naval Service An intergenerational journey encompassing four countries, lots of bravery, resiliency and risk-taking led SN Imanol Moreno Fuentes to joining the United States Navy, where he serves in deck department aboard the guided-missile destroyer USS Thomas Hudner (DDG 116).Moreno Fuentes hails from the...