Photo By Chief Petty Officer Jeff Atherton | VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. (May 24, 2021) - Cmdr. Steven Cobos, incoming commanding officer...... read more read more
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VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. (NNS) – Mobile Diving and Salvage Unit (MDSU) Two welcomed its newest leader during a change-of-command ceremony at Joint Expeditionary Base Little Creek- Fort Story, May 24, 2021.
Cmdr. Steven Cobos relieved Cmdr. Trevor Ritland as commanding officer of MDSU Two in front of family, friends and service members. Their change of command took place on the same day 19 years after they graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy together.
“Operationally, I had the distinct pleasure in observing how capable and talented this team is. What’s most impressive is the accelerated pace they are able to maintain while still producing reliable stellar performance,” said Ritland. “Over the past two years, we deployed 15 units of action to 17 countries across five separate geographic Combatant Commands.” He further highlighted how the command answered 52 Fleet and DoD requests for support, separate of their regular deployment requirements.
Ritland also highlighted MDSU Two’s support to the state-run, federally supported Community COVID-19 Vaccination Center (CVC) in Queens, New York.
“As a headquarters, MDSU Two was tasked to support the COVID-19 pandemic response in February of this year,” said Ritland. “With less than a week to prepare, MDSU Two deployed an unprecedented 45 personnel in support of a Community Vaccination Center in Queens, NY. Combined with 91 medical personnel from eight additional commands and 3 non-medical personnel from Expeditionary Support Unit Two, we executed the urgent presidentially-directed tasking to establish a Vaccination Center capable of administering 3,000 vaccines per day within 72 hours of on-site arrival. After nearly 13 weeks, we safely administered close to 225,000 vaccinations for New York.”
Capt. Chuck Eckhart, Commodore, Explosive Ordnance Disposal Group (EODGRU) Two, used his keynote address to the legacy of professionalism and dedication of MDSU Two to be a flexible, adaptable and responsive force.
“MDSU Two are true professionals. They execute every mission to a very high standard and very high level,” he said. “The salvage forces have a distinguished career and legacy of support in roles of wartime force projection dating all the way back to World War II. MDSU Two continues to contribute to this legacy by providing support to the fleet on a daily basis”
In his first address as commander, Cobos highlighted the legacy of MDSU Two, and a vision for the command moving forward.
“To the men and women of MDSU Two, I stand before you as a humbled and honored man,” he said. “Humbled by the history of this great command from its start as a mobile salvage unit in World War II to its harbor clearance efforts in Vietnam to the more recent efforts in support of GWOT and homeland defense, both CONUS and abroad. You have proven that you are the experts in salvage. I am honored to join your team and look forward to meeting each and every one of you and continuing the great work that Commander Ritland started leveraging the rich history of this command to shape the force to meet the future needs of our nation, in peacetime and war.”
MDSU Two, headquartered out of Joint Expeditionary Base Little Creek-Fort Story in Virginia Beach, Va., is the Navy’s premier East Coast diving and salvage unit, capable of providing highly skilled and combat-ready deployable forces around the globe in order to dominate the littorals and reinforce blue-water lethality across the great power competition continuum.
| Date Taken: | 05.24.2021 |
| Date Posted: | 05.27.2021 13:45 |
| Story ID: | 397600 |
| Location: | VIRGINIA BEACH, VA, US |
| Web Views: | 681 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, MDSU Two Holds Change of Command, by CPO Jeff Atherton, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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