NEW HAVEN, Conn. — U.S. Coast Guard Captain Joe Vojvodich relieved Captain Daniel A. Ronan as commander of Coast Guard Sector Long Island Sound and Captain of the Port of Long Island Sound during a time-honored military ceremony Monday, June 21, 2010.
The change of command ceremony is steeped in the rich heritage of naval tradition and recognizes the legal transfer of authority and responsibility from one commander to another while preserving the continuity of command vital to any military organization. Rear Adm. Daniel A. Neptun, Commander of the Coast Guard’s First District headquarters in Boston officiated the ceremony.
Prior to this assignment at Sector Long Island Sound, Vojvodich was the Acquisition Program Manager for the Coast Guard Acquisition Directorate’s Command, Control, Communications, Computers, Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (C4ISR) projects at Coast Guard Headquarters in Washington, D.C. He oversaw an investment portfolio consisting of five major C4ISR projects: Rescue 21, Coast Guard Logistics Information Management System, Interagency Operations Centers, Nationwide Automatic Identification System and the C4ISR project. Vojvodich has also served as the project manager for C4ISR recapitalization efforts on aircraft, cutters and shore stations and supervised the Coast Guard’s research and development portfolio at the Department of Homeland Security’s Science and Technology Directorate.
“I’m honored and ready to serve the great citizens of Connecticut and Long Island alongside my fellow Coast Guard men and women, said Vojvodich. I am looking forward to continuing our relationships with the federal, state and local government partners, as well as our partners in private industry. I’ve already witnessed unparalleled enthusiasm and dedication in my new shipmates at Sector Long Island Sound and am confident that working together we will continue to achieve success in all of our missions.”
Vojvodich is an graduate of the Coast Guard Academy with honors. He earned his Master’s of Science degree in electrical engineering from Purdue University and has completed the Naval War College nonresidential curriculum. In 2001, he obtained his Project Manager Professional certification. His most recent academic achievement was in 2007, when he graduated from the Industrial College of the Armed Forces at the National Defense University. He has been awarded three Coast Guard Meritorious Service Medals, three Coast Guard Commendation Medals and a Coast Guard Achievement Medal, as well as several unit, team and special operations service awards.
As commander of Coast Guard Sector Long Island Sound, Ronan led 490 active duty military and civilians, 180 uniformed reservists, and 1,800 volunteers with the Coast Guard Auxiliary at 16 operational units, including rescue stations, navigational aids teams, and cutters in Connecticut and on Long Island. Sector Long Island Sound includes coastal Connecticut, Long Island Sound, Long Island and offshore to 200 miles. From his command in New Haven, he oversaw water rescues, pollutions responses, port safety and security enhancements, ice breaking missions, and fisheries and counter narcotics enforcement operations.
During his career, Ronan served at the First Coast Guard District in Boston as the Chief of the Plans and Resources Division; he supervised the District’s six buoy tenders, provided platform management oversight for the District’s 21 cutters, and managed the District’s Command, Control, Communications, Computers, and Information Technology (C4IT) program and operational planning efforts. Ronan also served as Chief of the First Coast Guard District’s Maritime Homeland Security Branch and Chief of the First Coast Guard District’s Aids to Navigation Branch, project manager for shipboard navigation and command and control systems at the Coast Guard’s Command and Control Engineering Center, Director of Vessel Traffic Service New York, CG Business System Development at the Coast Guard’s Electronics Engineering Center, and service on three Coast Guard Cutters, one as the commanding officer.
Immediately following the change of command ceremony, outgoing Captain of the Port, Ronan retired after a 26 year career with the U.S. Coast Guard.
