Capt. Gregory Stump (left), Senior Chief Petty Officer Aaron Bretz (second left), Senior Chief Petty Officer Scott Slade (second right), Lt. Cmdr. David Stroud (right), render salutes during a change-of-command ceremony at Coast Guard Station Bodega Bay, Friday, May 22, 2015. Slade relieved Bretz as officer-in-charge of Station Bodega Bay. (Coast Guard photo by Petty Officer 3rd Class Loumania Stewart)
Coast Guard Senior Chief Petty Officer Aaron Bretz speaks during a change-of-command ceremony at Coast Guard Station Bodega Bay, Friday, May 22, 2015. Coast Guard Senior Chief Petty Officer Scott Slade relieved Bretz as officer-in-charge of Coast Guard Station Bodega Bay. (Coast Guard photo by Petty Officer 3rd Class Loumania Stewart)
Crewmembers from Coast Guard Station Bodega Bay stand with Capt. Gregory Stump, commander of Coast Guard Sector San Francisco, during a change-of-command ceremony at Station Bodega Bay, Friday, May 22, 2015. Senior Chief Petty Officer Scott Slade relieved Senior Chief Petty Officer Aaron Bretz as officer-in-charge of Station Bodega Bay. (Coast Guard photo by Petty Officer 3rd Class Loumania Stewart)
BODEGA BAY, Calif. — Senior Chief Petty Officer Scott Slade relieved Senior Chief Petty Officer Aaron Bretz as officer-in-charge of Coast Guard Station Bodega Bay during a change-of-command ceremony, Friday.
“Station Bodega Bay has flourished under Senior Chief Bretz's leadership over the past four years,” said Capt. Gregory Stump, commander, Coast Guard Sector San Francisco.
He led the unit in conducting more than over 650 search and rescue cases which resulted in more than over 150 lives saved and over 900 lives assisted.
"It takes a lot of work to be a part of a team like Station Bodega Bay,” said Senior Chief Bretz, prior officer-in-charge of Station Bodega Bay. “Thirty individuals with their own perspective have chosen to come together and identify themselves first and foremost as a unit. They‘ve done it better than any other group of people that I can think of, through thick and thin, and through challenges that have come and passed and some that still remain.”
“From today on, I look forward to building on the successful accomplishments and professional relationships that Senior Chief Bretz has set within the maritime community of Bodega Bay,” said Senior Chief Slade, officer-in-charge of Coast Guard Station Bodega Bay.
A change-of-command ceremony is a time-honored naval tradition, which formally restates to the officers and crew of a unit, the continuity and authority of command and is unique in the world today. It involves the total transfer of responsibility, authority and accountability from one person to another.
Station Bodega Bay assets include two 47-foot Motor Lifeboats and one 29-foot Response Boat — Small. Their area of responsibility stretches from Point Arena to Mount Gualala and out 50 nautical miles. It is only one of three multi-mission surfboat stations located in the Sector San Francisco AOR. Its missions include search and rescue, law enforcement and marine safety and security.