Capt. Christopher Martino delivers remarks during a change command ceremony for the Coast Guard Cutter Barracuda U.S. Coast Guard photo.
Senior Chief Petty Officer Phillip J. Kibby assumed command from Senior Chief Petty Officer Devin R. Spencer as officer in charge of the Barracuda during a change of command ceremony.
Spencer is slated to take command of Station San Francisco.
Kibby arrived in Eureka from his previous tour as the officer in charge of the Cutter Bollard located in New Haven, Conn.
The Barracuda crew’s primary missions are search and rescue, maritime law enforcement and homeland security. Their area of responsibility encompasses 250 miles of rugged coastline ranging from the Mendocino-Sonoma County border, north to the California-Oregon border. Southern patrols in the San Francisco and San Diego areas also occur routinely.
The change of command ceremony is a formal, time-honored ceremony conducted before the assembled officers and enlisted persons of a command that formally restates the continuing authority of that command. The change of command is a transfer of total responsibility and authority from one individual to another.
