BOLINGBROOK, Ill. — Cmdr. Jason Neubauer assumed the duties and responsibilities of commanding officer of MSU Chicago from Capt. Robert Bailey in a ceremony held at the Bolingbrook Golf Club, Friday.
Rear Adm. Michael Parks, commander of the 9th Coast Guard District, presided over the ceremony.
MSU Chicago is comprised of 60 active-duty, reserve and civilian personnel who perform a variety of tasks each day: armed port security patrols, inspections of commercial vessels, pollution and marine casualty investigations, safety zone enforcement and waterfront facility exams.
In the past year, unit members have dedicated their time to numerous port security and harbor patrols, conducted more than 900 vessel inspections, completed more than 200 investigations, and oversaw regulatory compliance at more than 100 waterfront facilities.
Attendees at the ceremony included: Gary Schenkel, director of the Office of Emergency Management and Communications for the City of Chicago, Col. Frederic Drummond, district commander of the Army Corps of Engineers in Chicago, and a host of other federal, state, local and industry representatives from the Chicago area.
Upon relief of command, Bailey is headed to Washington, D.C., to study at the Industrial College of the Armed Forces, National Defense University.
Neubauer takes command of MSU Chicago after serving as chief of prevention at Coast Guard Sector Honolulu.
The change-of-command ceremony is a time-honored tradition which formally acknowledges the transfer of responsibility, authority and accountability from one individual to another.
