Photo By Chief Petty Officer Amanda Gray | BANGOR, Wash. (March 4, 2016) - Cmdr. Kevin Macy, left, from El Dorado, Calif.,...... read more read more
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BANGOR, Wash. – The Gold crew of the Ohio-class ballistic-missile submarine USS Henry M. Jackson (SSBN 730) conducted a change of command ceremony at Naval Base Kitsap-Bangor, March 4.
Cmdr. Kevin Macy, from El Dorado, California, relieved Cmdr. Edward Robledo, from El Paso, Texas and assumed the duties and responsibilities of commanding officer for the Henry M. Jackson Gold crew during the ceremony held at Deterrent Park.
“This is a 31-year-old ship that has been in commission since 1984, and has done 90 patrols, she is our oldest operational ballistic-missile submarine,” said Rear Adm. Jeffrey Trussler, Commander, Undersea Warfighting Development Center, the guest speaker for the event.
“We build our ships and weapons to work all the time, every time, and we demonstrate it regularly without fail. None of that is routine, all of it is challenging and requires the focus, dedication, and commitment of a well-trained, professional crew and a forward-thinking, cool under pressure commanding officer. Well done Cmdr. Robledo and crew of USS Henry M. Jackson.”
Robledo assumed command of Henry M. Jackson’s Gold crew Sept. 9, 2013. During his 907 days of leadership, the crew conducted four strategic deterrent patrols with 306 days at sea. The boat steamed over 67,000 miles, completed two dry-dock maintenance periods, conducted 10 weeks of midshipmen operations, and had 78 officers and enlisted Sailors receive their submarine warfare qualifications, or “dolphins,” under his command.
The Gold Crew also received Retention Excellence Awards during fiscal years 2014 and 2015, with 49 officer and enlisted re-enlistments performed.
“Now to the superstars of this change of command, my crew; the Sailors, chief petty officers, and officers of the greatest warship in the United States Naval arsenal, the crew of the USS Henry M. Jackson,” said Robledo. “I stand up here honored and humbled to have been part of and command this great crew. “They had to endure the terms that my wife calls Robledoisms, all while accepting the challenges I gave them; to always strive to become better, ownership and do everything with pride and professionalism.”
Robledo’s next duty station is the Pentagon, where he will serve on the staff of the Undersea Warfare Division (N97) at the Office of the Chief of Naval Operations.
Macy comes to Henry M. Jackson from the Pentagon, where he served as nuclear strike branch chief on the Joint Staff, Operations Directorate (J33).
“For the men of Henry M Jackson (GOLD), you should be justifiably proud,” said Macy. “You have worked hard and won yourselves recognition as one of the top performing teams in the fleet. Well done. More than any other submarines in the force, this charge, to be effective warfighters from the first hour, rings true for us. From the day we take the boat, until we pass it to our reliefs, our commander, our nation, and our families depend on us to defend their freedom. I am honored to meet this challenge with you.”
Henry M. Jackson is one of eight Ohio-class ballistic-missile submarines homeported at Naval Base Kitsap-Bangor. She is the only U.S. Navy ship to be named after United States Sen. Henry M. Jackson and the only Ohio-class submarine that is not named after a state.
| Date Taken: | 03.04.2016 |
| Date Posted: | 03.04.2016 15:20 |
| Story ID: | 191165 |
| Location: | BANGOR, WA, US |
| Hometown: | EL DORADO, CA, US |
| Hometown: | EL PASO, TX, US |
| Web Views: | 1,477 |
| Downloads: | 1 |
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