CHARLESTON, S.C. (D7 Public Affairs) – A change of command ceremony is scheduled to be held at the Coast Guard Naval Engineering Support Unit Charleston, Friday at 10:30 a.m.
Cmdr. Kenneth D. Ivery will be relinquishing command of NESU Charleston to Cmdr. John R. Helton, after serving as the commanding officer since 2005.
Ivery attended Officer Candidate School in 1989 and upon graduation he reported aboard the CGC Courageous, where he served as the auxiliary division officer and damage control assistant. His later tours included NESU New Orleans and the CGC Harriet Lane. He is leaving NESU Charleston to become the engineering officer aboard the GCC Chase.
Helton holds a Masters Degree in Business Administration from Webster University. After spending 10 years in the Navy, he attended Officer Candidate School for the Coast Guard in October of 1990. Upon graduation Helton served on the CGC Escape and CGC Reliance.
NESU Charleston maintains operational and administrative control over Maintenance Augmentation Team in Charleston, St. Petersburg, Fla., and Kings Bay, Ga. The purpose of the MAT is to augment shipboard engineering personnel with routine preventive and corrective maintenance.
NESU Charleston was commissioned in August 1999 to help the increased operational tempo of the Seventh Coast Guard District’s patrol boats and the relocation of CGC Dallas and CGC Gallatin from Governors Island, N.Y., to Charleston.
