U.S. Coast Guard Cmdr. Karen Kutkiewicz, right, shakes hands with Cmdr. Cory Riesterer, left, at the USCGC Venturous’ (WMEC 625) change of command ceremony, July 13, 2023, at Coast Guard Sector St. Petersburg. (U.S. Coast Guard photo courtesy of Venturous)
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. – U.S. Coast Guard Cmdr. Karen Kutkiewicz relieved Cmdr. Cory Riesterer as commanding officer of the Coast Guard Cutter Venturous (WMEC 625) during a change of command ceremony Thursday at Coast Guard Sector St. Petersburg.
Capt. Kristen Serumgard, chief of Operational Forces of Coast Guard Atlantic Area, presided over the ceremony.
Kutkiewicz previously served as deputy chief of Strategic Communications at Coast Guard Headquarters.
Riesterer served as the commanding officer of Venturous from July 2021 to July 2023. His next assignment will be as the drug and migrant interdiction chief at the Coast Guard Office of Maritime Law Enforcement.
The change of command ceremony marks a transfer of total responsibility and authority from one individual to another. It is a time-honored tradition to formally demonstrate the continuity of authority within a command conducted before the assembled crew and esteemed guests and dignitaries.
Venturous is a 210-foot, Reliance-class medium endurance cutter. The cutter’s primary missions are counter-narcotics operations, migrant interdiction, and search and rescue in support of U.S. Coast Guard operations throughout the Western Hemisphere.
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