USS Nevada Blue Changes Command

Photo By Petty Officer 1st Class Kyle Hafer | SILVERDALE, Wash. (March 18, 2022) – U.S. Navy Cmdr. Eric Hunter, from Jonesboro, Ga., speaks to the families and crew of the Ohio-class ballistic-missile submarine USS Nevada (SSBN 733) during the ship’s change of command ceremony, March 18, 2022. Nevada, homeported at Naval Base Kitsap, Wash., is the eighth Ohio-class submarine and the fourth U.S. Navy ship to bear the name Nevada. The submarine was commissioned in Groton, Conn., Aug. 16, 1986. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Kyle Hafer)  

SILVERDALE, WA, UNITED STATES

03.18.2022

Story by Petty Officer 2nd Class Kyle Hafer 

Commander, Submarine Group Nine   

SILVERDALE, Wash. (March 18, 2022) – (NNS) The blue crew of the Ohio-class ballistic-missile submarine USS Nevada (SSBN 733) conducted a change of command at the U.S. Naval Undersea Museum, Keyport, Wash., March 18.

U.S. Navy Cmdr. Andres Aviles, from Arlington, Va., relieved Cmdr. Eric Hunter, from Jonesboro, Ga., to assume the duties and responsibilities as Nevada Blue’s commanding officer.

Hunter commissioned through officer candidate school in 2000 and served as Nevada Blue crew’s commanding officer since October, 2019. Under his command, the ship successfully completed two strategic deterrent patrols and one arduous refit period.

“We sailed nearly 17,000 nautical miles, traveling to Guam and through the equator," said Hunter. “We sailed, submerged, through navigationally constrained waters of the Western Pacific. We trained and prepared, and we were ready, doing the Nation’s work when our adversary was disrupting world peace. Our fellow citizens didn’t have to worry, because we were out there, holding the line.”

Aviles commissioned in 2002 and most recently served on the staff of U.S. Special Operations Command in Tampa Bay, Fla.

“Eric, thank you for the leadership you provided for Nevada; congratulations on a great command tour,” said Aviles. “I will strive to uphold key principles for our ship and crew.”

The ceremony concluded with chants from the crew of the ship’s slogan, “Battle born, battle ready.”

Since the 1960s, strategic deterrence has been the SSBNs sole mission, providing the United States with its most survivable and enduring nuclear strike capability.

Each SSBN has two crews, blue and gold, which alternate the manning and deploying of the submarine. This maximizes the SSBN’s strategic availability and allows for proper crew training, readiness, and morale.

Nevada is homeported at Naval Base Kitsap, Wash. It is the fourth U.S. Navy ship to bear the name Nevada and commissioned in Groton, Conn., Aug. 16, 1986. For more news about Nevada and other Commander, Submarine Group 9 units, visit www.facebook.com/SubGru9 or www.navy.mil/local/csg9/.

• Date Taken: 03.18.2022
• Date Posted: 03.18.2022 19:30
• Story ID: 416788
• Location: SILVERDALE, WA, US