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PORTSMOUTH, Va. – Cmdr. Stephen J. Adler relieved Cmdr. Joseph J. Sundland as commanding officer of the Coast Guard Cutter Forward during a change-of-command ceremony Thursday at Coast Guard Base Portsmouth in Portsmouth, Virginia.
The ceremony was presided over by Capt. Caleb Corson, chief of operations for Coast Guard Atlantic Area.
During Sundland’s tenure as Forward’s commanding officer, the ship experienced a period of superb material condition readiness with no lost operational days and the successful completion of five patrols, including support of the Coast Guard’s counter narcotic, migrant, and fisheries missions. The result of these patrols was the seizure of 124 kilograms of cocaine, 675 lbs of scallops, and the disruption of the attempted smuggling 3,000 lbs of marijuana.
As the new commanding officer of the Forward, Adler will oversee the cutter’s operations in maritime homeland security missions, which include drug and migrant interdiction, search and rescue, port and waterway security, and military operations in support of national strategic interests.
The change-of-command ceremony is a historic Coast Guard and Naval tradition. The event, which has remained unchanged for centuries, includes a reading of the command orders in the presence of all unit crew members.