MEMPHIS, Tenn. – Chief Warrant Officer Thad Wagner relieved Chief Warrant Officer Nick Frascella as the commanding officer of the Coast Guard Cutter Kankakee in an official change-of-command ceremony, July 27, 2014.
Chief Warrant Officer Frascella assumed command of the cutter Kankakee in August 2011, and will become the Auxiliary Operational Training Officer in Louisville, Kentucky.
Chief Warrant Officer Thad Wagner relieved Chief Warrant Officer Nick Frascella as the commanding officer of the Coast Guard Cutter Kankakee in an official change-of-command ceremony, July 27, 2014. Coast Guard photo courtesy of Coast Guard Sector Lower Mississippi River
As the Commanding Officer, Frascella directed unit operations, personnel management readiness, administration and the mission execution of a Western River Buoy Tender. He was responsible for Aids to Navigation servicing, maintenance and discrepancy response of more than 500 aids, marking a navigable channel that commercially transports more than 600 million tons of commodities annually, encompassing two Captain of the Port zones.
Chief Warrant Officer Wagner completed Coast Guard basic training and reported aboard the Coast Guard Cutter Kankakee in 1996. After striking Boatswain’s Mate, he was assigned to Coast Guard Station Port Aransas, Texas as Coxswain and Boarding Officer. He was then assigned to commission the Coast Guard Cutter Spar in Kodiak, Alaska as a Second Class Boatswain’s Mate. While attached to the Spar he was named the 17th District Enlisted Person of the Year. After advancement to a first class petty officer he was transferred back to Port Aransas, Texas aboard Coast Guard Cutter Steelhead as the executive petty officer.
Chief Warrant Officer Wagner’s other executive petty officer tours include Coast Guard Station South Portland, Maine and back aboard Coast Guard Cutter Kankakee in Memphis. During the summer of 2012, Wagner transferred from the Coast Guard’s Small Boat Station in Valdez, Alaska to Station Lake Charles, Louisiana where he served as the officer in charge.
The change-of-command ceremony is a time-honored tradition and deeply rooted in Coast Guard and Naval history. The event signifies a total transfer of responsibility, authority and accountability for the command.
