Naval Facilities Engineering and Expeditionary Warfare Center (NAVFAC EXWC) welcomes commanding officer Capt. Scott P. Raymond, who relieves departing commanding officer Capt. Michael R. Saum after providing three years of visionary leadership to the command.
The two-hour ceremony captured the time-honored military tradition of formally transferring authority and responsibility from Capt. Saum to Capt. Raymond. Simultaneously, NAVFAC EXWC celebrated the retirement of Capt. Saum after providing 29 years of honorable service to the Department of the Navy. Rear Adm, John Korka, Commander of NAVFAC and Chief of Civil Engineers, served as the honorable guest speaker during the ceremony. Cmdr. Craig Clutts, NAVFAC EXWC Executive Officer, officiated both the change of command and retirement ceremony.
“Capt. Saum has been an icon in our Civil Engineer Corps,” said Korka. “[Capt. Saum is] an officer who has not shied away from the difficult assignments; [he is] a person who gets energized guiding teams to succeed. Throughout Capt. Saum’s career, he has been a trusted counselor to many leaders, a close friend to countless shipmates, and a tremendous teacher for our junior officers and civilian Sailors.”
Military personnel, distinguished visitors, and civilian guests gathered to celebrate Capt. Saum’s nearly three decades of unwavering service to the Department of Defense (DOD). While serving as commanding officer at NAVFAC EXWC, Capt. Saum was responsible for guiding the combined efforts of 1,300 military and civilian personnel, while executing over $940 million in projects across the armed forces globally. Notably, over the course of the last three years, Capt. Saum and his executive leadership team made history after advocating, and finally achieving designation as a science and technology reinvention laboratory (STRL)—increasing the collaboration between NAVFAC EXWC, the DOD, and the Navy’s warfare centers. By adding the STRL designation to its repertoire, NAVFAC EXWC can expand its opportunities in the research, development, testing and evaluation space, ultimately increasing agility to deliver critical products and services to the warfighter.
“NAVFAC EXWC’s record of performance has added another chapter to the rich NAVFAC legacy,” said Korka. “The impact Capt. Saum has had on the people of the command is indeed impressive.”
Towards the end of the ceremony, Rear Adm. Korka presented Capt. Saum with the Legion of Merit Award for his exceptionally meritorious conduct, performance, and outstanding service as a commanding officer during his tenure at NAVFAC EXWC.
In his last speech as the commanding officer of NAVFAC EXWC, Capt. Saum said, “this award is symbiotic of the great team at NAVFAC EXWC. We took on more change in three years then most commands will experience in ten, especially during a global pandemic. However, the decision to take on these challenges were intentional. This job has been the capstone of my career. This is a great group of Americans; this is a national asset and I am proud to have served with every single one of you.”
Following the reading of orders and assumption of the command, Capt. Raymond took the podium.
“This opportunity will be a lifetime of achievement,” said Raymond. “NAVFAC EXWC is an extraordinarily important and powerful place to work. The mission here is essential to our naval force and the NAVFAC Enterprise. I believe this change of command is about the great men and women of NAVFAC EXWC, and I’ve been so impressed with the professionalism, persistence, and passion of the folks I’ve met. I look forward to serving with you and for this incredibly great nation that we are honored to support.”
Drawing its origins from ancient customs and laws of the sea, the change of command ceremony grants the opportunity for the professionals serving under command leadership to personally witness the official passing of the command between officers who are duly authorized to assume control. The ceremony is formal in nature, and aims to strengthen the respect of authority between both military and civilian personnel.
“I want to assure you that when the Navy selected Capt. Raymond for command [of NAVFAC EXWC], we knew what we were doing,” said Korka. “He is the right person to replace Capt. Saum and assume the mantle of command… Despite all of the pomp and circumstance, it all comes down to four simple words: I relieve you, sir. With those words, the moment they are uttered, the great weight and great rewards of the command are immediately and irrevocably passed from one officer to another.”
###
About Naval Facilities Engineering Systems Command, Engineering and Expeditionary Warfare Center (NAVFAC EXWC):
NAVFAC EXWC is a command of more than 1,300 dedicated federal employees, contractors, and military personnel who provide science, research, development, testing, evaluation, specialized engineering, and mobile logistics capabilities to deliver sustainable facility and pragmatic expeditionary solutions to the warfighter.
For more news from NAVFAC EXWC, please visit https://www.navfac.navy.mil/ or visit us on Facebook @NAVFACEXWC
| Date Taken: | 07.20.2021 |
| Date Posted: | 07.23.2021 13:45 |
| Story ID: | 401615 |
| Location: | PORT HUENEME, CA, US |
| Web Views: | 337 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, Naval Facilities Engineering and Expeditionary Warfare Center Holds Dual Change of Command and Retirement Ceremony, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
LEAVE A COMMENT