Cmdr. Jonathan Harris, right, relieves Capt. Anne O’Connell, left, as commanding officer of the USCGC Campbell (WMEC 909) during a change of command ceremony, June 9, 2023, at Naval Station Newport. (U.S. Coast Guard photo by Petty Officer 2nd Class Eric Desirey)
NEWPORT, R.I., — U.S. Coast Guard Cmdr. Jonathan Harris relieved Capt. Anne O’Connell as commanding officer of the Coast Guard Cutter Campbell (WMEC 909) during a change of command ceremony, Friday, at Naval Station Newport.
Rear Adm. Laura Dickey, deputy commander of Coast Guard Atlantic Area, presided over the ceremony.
Harris previously served as the USCGC Hamilton’s (WMSL 753) executive officer.
“I am extremely excited to take command and look forward to serving at sea with the Campbell crew, a team who delivers outstanding mission results by saving lives and enforcing the law,” said Harris.
O’Connell served as the commanding officer of Campbell from July 2021 to June 2023. O’Connell’s next assignment will be the director of the Commandant’s Advisory Group at Coast Guard Headquarters in Washington, D.C.
The change of command ceremony marks a transfer of total responsibility and authority from one individual to another. It is a time-honored tradition to formally demonstrate the continuity of authority within a command conducted before the assembled crew and esteemed guests and dignitaries.
Campbell is a 270-foot, Famous-class medium endurance cutter. The cutter’s primary missions are counter-narcotics operations, migrant interdiction, living marine resources protection, and search and rescue in support of U.S. Coast Guard operations throughout the Western Hemisphere.
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