EVERETT, Wash. – Lt. j.g. Elizabeth Kates assumed the duties and responsibilities as commanding officer of Coast Guard Cutter Blue Shark from Lt. Nathan Wojcik, the Blue Shark’s previous commanding officer, during a change of command ceremony at Naval Station Everett, July 17, 2013.
The change of command ceremony was presided over by Capt. Scott Ferguson, commander of Coast Guard Sector Puget Sound.
Kates was previously assigned as first lieutenant aboard Coast Guard Cutter Resolute, a 210-foot Reliance class cutter home-ported in St. Petersburg, Fla.
Wojcik will attend the Haas School of Business at the University of California-Berkeley under the Coast Guard Financial Management program.
Blue Shark is an 87-foot patrol boat home-ported here. The crew of Blue Shark are involved in a multitude of missions including homeland security, search and rescue, recreational boating safety, port safety and security, and law enforcement including: alien migrant interdiction, pollution prevention, marine sanctuary protection, drug interdiction and fisheries enforcement.
In preparation for Blue Shark’s change of command ceremony, crew members set up chairs, tents, tables and podiums. Food service specialists from Blue Shark and its neighboring vessel Coast Guard Cutter Henry Blake, a 175-foot buoy tender based out of Naval Station Everett, prepared a large assortment of food for the reception following the ceremony.
The change of command ceremony is a time-honored tradition which formally restates to the officers and crew of the command the continuity of the authority vested in the commanding officer.
This unique military ritual represents a total transfer of responsibility, authority and accountability from one leader to the next.
For more information contact the 13th District Public Affairs Office at 206-220-7237.