Coast Guard Sector Boston holds change of command ceremony

News Release

U.S. Coast Guard 1st District Northeast Contact: 1st District Public Affairs Office: (617) 223-8515 After Hours: (617) 717-9609 1st District online newsroom

Coast Guard Sector Boston holds change of command ceremony

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BOSTON — Coast Guard Capt. Eric Doucette relieved Capt. Claudia Gelzer as the commander of Coast Guard Sector Boston during a change of command ceremony Friday at Faneuil Hall in Boston.

Gelzer assumed the duties as sector commander of Boston in 2015 where she oversaw the execution of every Coast Guard mission from the New Hampshire and Massachusetts border to Plymouth to include 227 miles of coastline and 200 nautical miles offshore. 

“The extraordinary people of Massachusetts and members of Sector Boston proudly defined my tour," said Gelzer. "The port partners in Massachusetts and Boston are second to none, they like the Coast Guard, show their importance and bring hope during times of despair." 

Gelzer, a native of Rye, New York, joined the Coast Guard in 1991 and will be retiring after 27 years of service. 

Doucette, a native of Medfield, joined the Coast Guard in 1989. He was previously assigned at the White House serving two administrations as the Vice President’s Special Advisor for Counterterrorism, Homeland Security and African Affairs. 

Rear Adm. Andrew Tiongson, Commander, First Coast Guard District, presided over the ceremony.

Doucette will now lead a sector comprised of nearly 350 active duty and civilian personnel, 120 Reservists and 1,000 Auxiliary members. The sector’s sub-units include four small boat stations, a 110-foot and 87-foot patrol boat, a 65-foot icebreaking tug and one aids to navigation team.

The change of command ceremony is a formal ritual conducted before the assembled company of the command. It conveys to officers and enlisted personnel that although the authority of command is relinquished by one person and assumed by another, it is still maintained without interruption.

-USCG-