Photo By Chief Petty Officer Darren Moore | 250828-N-ME988-1399 NAVAL SUBMARINE BASE NEW LONDON, Conn. (Aug. 28, 2025) Cmdr....... read more read more
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GROTON, Connecticut – Cmdr. Mike Hartzell turned command of the nuclear-powered fast attack submarine USS Virginia (SSN 774) over to Cmdr. Jeremy Wheelis in a traditional change of command ceremony held Thursday, Aug. 28, pierside at Naval Submarine Base New London in Groton, Connecticut.
Capt. Thomas Flaherty, commander, Submarine Squadron (SUBRON) 4, presided over the ceremony and served as the guest speaker.
“Under Cmdr. Hartzell’s leadership, USS Virginia has excelled across every measure of performance. Most notably, the crew completed an arduous six-month deployment to the European command theater, the first deployment following a major shipyard period,” Flaherty said. “It’s a challenge that requires precision, toughness, and trust. The Virginia crew, guided by Cmdr. Hartzell, delivered it always. They executed complex missions with skill and poise and they represented our Navy and Nation with distinction in multinational exercises alongside our allies.”
Hartzell, an East Lyme, Connecticut native and 2006 graduate of Pennsylvania State University, took command of Virginia in April 2024.
During his speech, Hartzell praised his crew and their successes following early struggles out of the boat’s maintenance availability.
“The submarine force absolutely attracts the highest quality Sailors in the world, and that makes it such that our top-performing crews and bottom-performing boats performance margins are razor thin,” Hartzell said. “Those early setbacks lit a fire underneath this crew. You all relished being the underdogs. It made you hungry for success and hungry dogs ran faster than everyone else.”
Their efforts culminated in Virginia being selected as a Commander, Submarine Force Atlantic 2024 Battle Efficiency (“E”) winner, a competition conducted to strengthen and evaluate both command and overall Force warfighting readiness and recognize outstanding command performance, as well as a litany of other individual and command achievements.
Wheelis, a native of Albuquerque, New Mexico, and graduate of the University of New Mexico, assumes command having previously served aboard the submarines USS Springfield (SSN 761), USS Henry M. Jackson (SSBN-730), and USS Colorado (SSN 788).
“It is an honor to stand before you today and assume command of this warship and the exceptional crew that brings her alive to realize her purpose,” Wheelis said. “What you have built here is something rare: a culture of operational excellence, a unity of purpose, and a deep-founded commitment to each other and our purpose surpassing rank and rate. You are counted with the finest warfighting teams this Navy has ever seen. My focus will be to continue that trajectory.”
Virginia, commissioned in October of 2004, is the tenth U.S. Navy ship named for the Commonwealth of Virginia. The submarine, currently assigned to Submarine Squadron 4, has a crew of more than 130 personnel, is more than 377 feet long and can displace nearly 7,900 tons.
The Virginia-class of nuclear-powered fast attack submarines are designed for a broad spectrum of open-ocean and littoral missions. Fast-attack submarines are multi-mission platforms enabling five of the six Navy maritime strategy core capabilities – sea control, power projection, forward presence, maritime security and deterrence. They are designed to excel in anti-submarine warfare, anti-ship warfare, strike warfare, special operations, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance, irregular warfare and mine warfare. Fast-attack submarines project power ashore with special operations forces and Tomahawk cruise.
| Date Taken: | 08.28.2025 |
| Date Posted: | 08.28.2025 17:41 |
| Story ID: | 546846 |
| Location: | GROTON, CONNECTICUT, US |
| Hometown: | ALBUQUERQUE, NEW MEXICO, US |
| Hometown: | EAST LYME, CONNECTICUT, US |
| Web Views: | 341 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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