Capt. Sean Mackenzie (right) relieves Capt. Paul Albertson as commander of Coast Guard Sector Anchorage June 30, 2017. U.S. Coast Guard photo by Petty Officer 1st Class Bill Colclough.
ANCHORAGE, Alaska — Capt. Sean MacKenzie relieved Capt. Paul Albertson as commander of Coast Guard Sector Anchorage during a change of command and retirement ceremony Friday at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson in Anchorage.
MacKenzie was previously assigned as the Coast Guard liaison to the European Union and NATO in Brussels, Belgium. From June 2013 to June 2015, MacKenzie served as deputy commander of Coast Guard Sector Columbia River, where he was responsible for Coast Guard operations in the state of Oregon, the southern half of Washington and most of Idaho. Other assignments included serving as executive officer of the Coast Guard Cutter Jarvis, European Command in Stuttgart, Germany, and attending the Air Force War College at Maxwell Air Force Base in Montgomery, Alabama.
Albertson, a native of Ashland, Oregon, enlisted in the Coast Guard in 1988 and retired after 29 years of service. He will move to Seattle, where he plans to catch up on a little hiking as he evaluates the next step in his professional career.
“I would like to thank Capt. Albertson and all the members of Sector Anchorage for a warm welcome and for making me and my family feel at home,” said Mackenzie. “I feel very honored and privileged to have been assigned to Sector Anchorage, and I look forward to working with this great team.”
The change of command ceremony marks a transfer of total responsibility and authority from one individual to another. It is a time honored tradition conducted before the assembled crew, as well as honored guests and dignitaries to formally demonstrate the continuity of the authority within a command.
