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HONOLULU — Capt. Edward Sheppard Jr. relieved Capt. Patrick McElligatt and assumed command of Coast Guard Base Honolulu during a change of command ceremony at Base Honolulu, Tuesday.
Rear Adm. James Heinz, the Coast Guard’s Director of Operational Logistics, presided over the ceremony.
"I will sincerely miss living and working in Hawaii," said McElligatt. "It has been an honor and a privilege to serve as the commanding officer and to live in such a beautiful place."
McElligatt took command of Base Honolulu in June of 2013. He will be transferring to Coast Guard Headquarters, Office of Mission Support Integration, DCMS-5, in Washington, DC.
The change of command ceremony is a time-honored tradition and formal ritual conducted before the assembled company of a command to confirm to the men and women of the unit that the authority of command is maintained. The ceremony is a transfer of total responsibility, authority and accountability from one individual to another.
Prior to reporting to Base Honolulu, Sheppard, a native of Delaware, served as executive officer of the Coast Guard Aviation Logistics Center. He also previously served as the ALC Short Range Recovery Product Line Manager where he was responsible for providing the overarching strategic vision, leadership and management of technical services, engineering support, supply, procurement and depot overhaul support to the Coast Guard’s fleet of 101 MH-65 Dolphin helicopters at 18 air stations. Prior to reporting to the ALC, he was assigned as the Coast Guard Liaison to the Department of Homeland Security's Office of Strategic Planning where he developed long-range strategic plans and oversaw the development of U.S. national policy documents. He graduated from the Coast Guard Academy in 1993 with honors and a Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering and received a master's degree in Aerospace Engineering from the University of Texas at Austin in 2002.
“Special thanks to the men and women of Base Honolulu," said Sheppard. "You have built an excellent reputation as a provider of world-class mission support. My family and I are excited about this amazing opportunity and I look forward to working with you."
Base Honolulu’s mission is to deliver integrated mission support during routine and contingency operations throughout the 14th Coast Guard District's area of responsibility. The area of responsibility encompasses more that 12.2 million square miles in the Central and Western Pacific Ocean.