Coast Guard Cutter Campbell receives new captain
U.S. Coast Guard sent this bulletin at 04/08/2017 06:40 PM EDT
News Release |
April 08, 2017 |
Coast Guard Cutter Campbell receives new captain
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BOSTON — Coast Guard Cmdr. Mark A. McDonnell relieved Capt. Michael F. Nasitka as the Commanding Officer of Coast Guard Cutter Campbell Saturday during a change of command ceremony at the Coast Guard Moorings at Portsmouth Naval Shipyard in Kittery, Maine.
McDonnell was previously assigned as the Chief of Cutter Management at the First Coast Guard District in Boston.
"I am honored to join the proud Coast Guard tradition of Coast Guardsmen who have served on the Cutter Campbell," said McDonnell. "I'm impressed with the crew who have surpassed my expectations, and I look forward to sailing with them."
Nasitka will report to U.S. Coast Guard Command, Control, Communications, and Engineering Center in Portsmouth, Virginia.
"Cutter Campbell has accomplished a great deal in my time as commanding officer, I will move on to my new assignment knowing this cutter and crew will continue to be one of the hardest working and strongest performing cutters in the Coast Guard well after my departure," said Nasitka.
Capt. Jeffrey K. Randall, chief of Atlantic Area operations presided over the ceremony.
United States Senator Maggie Hassan of New Hampshire attended the ceremony, which is a time-honored military tradition.
The Change of Command Ceremony is a formal ritual conducted before the assembled company of the command. It conveys to officers and enlisted personnel of the cutter that although the authority of command is relinquished by one person and assumed by another, it is still maintained without interruption.
The Coast Guard Cutter Campbell (WMEC-909) is a 270-foot medium endurance cutter, with a crew complement of approximately 100 (86 enlisted and 14 officers).
-USCG-