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PHILADELPHIA – Navy Recruiting District (NRD) Philadelphia held a change of command ceremony where Cmdr. Michael Thompson was relieved as commanding officer by Cmdr. Kemi Elebute, May 3.
The event also served as a retirement ceremony for Thompson, concluding his 20 years of dedicated service as a Naval officer.
“To the Officers, Chiefs, Sailors, and civilian team of NRD Philadelphia; it has been an honor to have served as your commanding officer,” said Thompson, a native of Twin City, Georgia. “We have accomplished many great things and added many great new additions to our Navy team. I cannot think a better way to end my Navy career than to have been involved in shaping of the next generation of Navy leaders.”
Also attending the ceremony was Capt. James Bahr, commodore of Navy Recruiting Region East, who served as the ceremonies presiding officer, as well as Thompson’s father, retired Cmdr. John Thompson, who expressed how proud he is of his son’s achievements.
“By my observation of Michael’s career, he has truly embodied the biblical scripture Micah 6:8,” said John. “Michael has truly acted justly, loved mercy, and walked humbly with God during his Naval career.”
Thompson, assumed command of NRD Philadelphia in 2017, and credits the district’s success to the strong team work of the command's respective Sailors. Thompson’s departure from the command and the Navy paves the way for Elebute, to take charge of NRD Philadelphia.
“I'm honored to accept the responsibility as NRD Philadelphia’s commanding officer,” said Elebute, a native of Hyattsville, Maryland. “With the ever growing need for a strong Naval force, I will build upon the outstanding leadership of Cmdr. Thompson, as well as the exceptional talent of all of the Sailors and civilians we have on board.”
Elebute enlisted in the Navy in 1995 as a radioman and later commissioned as a surface warfare officer following his graduation from George Washington University. Elebute has expressed his excitement to take charge of NRD Philadelphia and his confidence in his respective recruiting team.
“I have the upmost confidence in this team to excel with the challenging mission of recruiting,” said Elebute. “We will be challenged. There will be long days. But our mission to turn the best our nation has to offer into Sailors is too important to take lightly. Together, we will lead Navy recruiting into the future, as we build our country's Navy's combat team.”
Navy Recruiting Command consists of a command headquarters, three Navy Recruiting Regions, 18 Navy Recruiting Districts and eight Navy Talent Acquisition Groups that serve more than 1,300 recruiting stations across the world. Their combined goal is to attract the highest quality candidates to assure the ongoing success of America’s Navy.
For more news from Commander, Navy Recruiting Command, go to http://www.cnrc.navy.mil. Follow Navy Recruiting on Facebook (www.facebook.com/NavyRecruiting), Twitter (@USNRecruiter) and Instagram (@USNRecruiter).
| Date Taken: | 05.03.2019 |
| Date Posted: | 05.04.2019 14:16 |
| Story ID: | 320745 |
| Location: | PHILADELPHIA , PENNSYLVANIA, US |
| Web Views: | 174 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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