SILVERDALE. Wash. - The Gold crew of the Ohio-class ballistic missile submarine USS Kentucky (SSBN 737) held a change-of-command ceremony on Naval Base Kitsap-Bangor, Dec. 5.
Cmdr. James F. Hurt was relieved by Cmdr. Joseph L. Campbell as the commanding officer of Kentucky in a ceremony attended by distinguished visitors, guests, and crew.
“They said some nice words about me earlier, but make no mistake, all of those words, all of them, are due to the effort and energy you have each given during your time on board,” said Hurt. “Every success we have achieved was due to your willingness to go the extra mile, to do the extra rep, to do it until we got it right.”
Capt. Michael Lewis attended the event as Hurt’s guest speaker. Lewis was previously the commodore of Commander, Submarine Squadron 19.
“He is here today turning over this superior crew because he rolled up his sleeves and dug into where the processes failed - he fixed them and continued moving forward with better plans,” said Lewis. “Most importantly, he continued keeping his ship at sea when needed to maintain the safety and security of the world. That is why we put leaders such as Hurt in charge of our nation’s most treasured asset. They will not allow mistakes to sideline them from carrying out their duties and responsibilities. They learn from them and move on.”
Campbell delivered his remarks and thanks to Hurt after receiving command of Kentucky.
“It is the honor and humbling privilege of a lifetime to stand here as your commanding officer today,” said Campbell. “Your daily hard work and training, maintaining and fighting our ship, assures our nation and our allies while giving pause to any enemy that considers doing our nation harm. I thank you for your service in this challenging profession and look forward to leaning into the fight together.”
For more news from Kentucky, https://www.csp.navy.mil/kentucky