CLEVELAND — Rear Adm. Jonathan P. Hickey relieved Rear Adm. Michael J. Johnston as commander of the Ninth Coast Guard District in a change-of-command ceremony at Windows on the River Banquet Hall, Thursday.
Vice Adm. Kevin E. Lunday, commander, Coast Guard Atlantic Area, presided over the event.
Hickey previously served as the Director of Operational Logistics (DOL), responsible for the delivery of mission support logistics for Coast Guard steady state and contingency response operations and for planned events of national significance. Hickey is a 1994 graduate of the Coast Guard Academy.
“I couldn’t be more grateful and excited for this opportunity to be on the Great Lakes team,” says Adm. Hickey. “I look forward to getting to work with all of you, as we work together to ensure the safety, security and economic prosperity of the Great Lakes.”
Johnston served as the Ninth District commander from May 2021 to April 2023. He will head to New London, Connecticut, to serve as the superintendent of the Coast Guard Academy.
The Ninth Coast Guard District is responsible for all Coast guard operations throughout the five Great Lakes, the Saint Lawrence Seaway and parts of the surrounding states including 6,700 miles of shoreline and 1,500 miles of the international border with Canada. The 6,000 active duty, reserve, civilian and auxiliary men and women who make up the Ninth District deliver multi-mission services in search and rescue, maritime safety and security, environmental protection, maritime law enforcement, aids to navigation and icebreaking.
The change-of-command ceremony is a time-honored tradition that formally states to the officers, enlisted, civilians and auxiliarists of the command the continuity and authority of command. It signifies the total transfer of responsibility, authority and accountability of command from one individual to another.
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