BOSTON — The crew of Coast Guard Cutter Tahoma held a change of command ceremony Thursday at Portsmouth Naval Shipyard.
During the event, Cmdr. Timothy T. Brown, a New England native, assumed the responsibilities as commanding officer of the Tahoma, homeported Portsmouth, New Hampshire.
“Cmdr. Carmichael and the Tahoma crew are highly regarded in the Atlantic Area cutter fleet,” said Brown. “I look forward to leading the Tahoma crew in writing the next few pages of this ‘Famous Class’ cutter's history.”
Brown’s previous assignments include the deputy chief of enforcement and fisheries law enforcement officer for Coast Guard District Five in Portsmouth, Virginia and serving in the Office of Law Enforcement Policy at Coast Guard Headquarters in Washington, D.C.
Carmichael, who served as commanding officer of the Tahoma since 2014, will continue his Coast Guard career in Miami as the assistant branch chief of the Seventh Coast Guard District’s response enforcement branch.
“I have thoroughly enjoyed my time with the crew aboard Tahoma,” said Carmichael. “I could not have asked for a better opportunity to meet so many amazing people and conduct several diverse Coast Guard missions during my tenure.”
The change of command ceremony is a time-honored tradition of the formally restating the continuity of command to the officers and crew. It is a formal ritual conducted before the assembled company of the command, which serves as a visible symbol of the transfer of total responsibility, authority, and accountability from one individual to another.
Capt. Jeffrey K. Randall, chief of operational forces for Coast Guard Atlantic Area, presided over the ceremony.
Coast Guard Cutter Tahoma was commissioned on April 6, 1988. Tahoma, with a crew of 14 officers and 86 enlisted, specializes in drug and migrant interdiction, search and rescue, and living resource management operations.