Editor's Note: Coast Guard District 7 imagery
KEY WEST, Fla. — Chief Warrant Officer Adam R. Smith relieved Chief Warrant Officer Chad M. Barber as commanding officer of Coast Guard Cutter Charles David Jr., Thursday, during a change-of-command ceremony at Coast Guard Sector Key West.
Capt. Jason Ingram, Sector Key West commander, presided over the event.
Chief Warrant Officer Barber was the commanding officer of the cutter since July 2021, conducting 25 patrols and accumulating over 5,000 hours underway. He will transfer to the Coast Guard Cutter Alex Haley, home ported in Alaska. Chief Warrant Officer Smith takes command of the cutter after serving as the Officer in Charge of Station Provincetown, Massachusetts.
“Thank you to Chief Warrant Officer Barber’s family, his spouse Shannon, two sons Hayden and Logan, and his daughter Bryn, for their support while he served his community in the Florida Keys,” said Capt. Jason Ingram, commander, Sector Key West, .
Cutter Charles David Jr. is one of six Fast Response Cutters homeported in Key West and reports to Sector Key West. The cutter patrols over 55,000 square nautical miles of Sector Key West’s area of responsibility within the Florida Straits and the Gulf of Mexico, as well as regularly forward deploying to the Caribbean Sea and other areas in support of the Coast Guard’s national security, law enforcement, and lifesaving missions.
The change-of-command ceremony marks a transfer of total responsibility and authority from one individual to another. It is a time-honored tradition, conducted before the assembled crew, as well as honored guests and dignitaries to formally demonstrate the continuity of the authority within a command.
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