CLEVELAND — Coast Guard Marine Safety Unit Cleveland held a change-of-command ceremony at the Coast Guard’s Cleveland Moorings facility Friday morning.
Cmdr. Kenneth V. Mills was relieved as commanding officer by Lt. Cmdr. Jerrel “Wade” Russell during the ceremony as Cmdr. John Imahori, deputy commander of Coast Guard Sector Buffalo, N.Y., presided.
Mills had been the commanding officer of MSU Cleveland since July 2010, and is moving on to Coast Guard Sector Detroit as the chief of prevention, where he will be responsible for the oversight of vessel inspections, investigations, and waterways management for southwestern Lake Erie, the Detroit River, Lake St. Clair, St. Clair River and most of Lake Huron.
Russell was previously assigned as detachment chief for the Towing Vessel National Center of Expertise in Paducah, Ky. His duties included national oversight of the Coast Guard’s Towing Vessel Bridging Program, which helped prepare the uninspected towing vessel industry for inspected service.
MSU Cleveland is northeast Ohio’s premier maritime safety and regulatory authority. The unit’s area of responsibility stretches from Vermillion, Ohio, to the Pennsylvania/Ohio border and as far south as Akron, Ohio. Annually, the unit responds to more than 150 marine environmental pollution cases, conducts dozens of vessel security boardings and examinations, executes all commercial vessel inspections and investigations of marine casualties. MSU Cleveland is comprised of 40 active-duty and reserve personnel.
Photos from the ceremony can be viewed on the Coast Guard News Flickr page.
Lt. Cmdr. Jerrel “Wade” Russell salutes as he relieves Cmdr. Ken Mills as the commanding officer of Coast Guard Marine Safety Unit Cleveland at the Coast Guard’s Cleveland Moorings facility July 12, 2013. U.S. Coast Guard photo by Joseph Fletscher
