Change of Command.

May 10, 2010. Coast Guard Change of Command. Coast Guard Station St. Ignace, MI.
Rich got his first Officer in Charge job in the Coast Guard. It's a pretty big deal and we are very proud of him!

The following pictures are from the Change of Command Ceromony May 10.

Rich addressed the audience and crew of the station.

This was his speach.

Captain, friends, family and shipmates; thank you for joining me today and sharing this experience.
My father, LCDR Delano Berg USN (ret.) travelled 14 hours yesterday to be here, thank you!
Master Chief, thank you for your assitance this week. It has made my transition to this unit and my first command seemless and straightforward.
To the crew of Station St. Ignace, I look forward to working with you. I have observed many of you this week and I am impressed by your upbeat attitude and professionalism. I ask that you continue your hard work and dedication under my command. Our success will hinge upon team cordination, holding eachother accountable, and maintaining a positive work environment.
I want to share three of my goals durring my term here at the station. I will focus on saftey, unit effencency and crew wellbeing.
As first responders, law enforcement officers and aids to navigation technicians, you are placed in harms way to serve to public. You can expect from me that I will provide you the training and equipment necessary to complete your missions safely and I expect from you that you will use your judgement and experience to never undertake unacceptable risk.
We will provide our services to the public to the best of our ability and operate with fiscal stewardship, environmental sensitivity and efficiency in mind. Change will not be made for changes sake, change will be driven by necessity or improvement in practices.
And lastly, I will focus on you because you are our greatest resource. I will provide you with a challenging and mentally stimulating work environment. I will assist you with your development both professionally and personnaly. . I encourage innovation and am a strong advocate for morale, let have fun, after all, this is the best job on the planet.

From Left to Right- Rich, the master chief relieved, captain of the CG sector in Ste Sault Marie. Each of them addressed the crew and the audience.

The crew of the station.

Captain asked Rich to inspect the crew before he accepted command.

At the end the offical transfer of command from master cheif to Rich.

Info on the station:

Coast Guard Station St. Ignace is a heavy-weather small boat station that serves the Straits of Mackinac including Mackinac Island, Mackinac Bridge, and the Northern portions of Lakes Michigan and Huron. Station St. Ignace's missions are Search & Rescue (SAR), Aids to Navigation, Homeland Defense, Law Enforcement, and promotion of safe boating practices. Crews from the Station assist boaters in approximately 100 cases every year, the AtoN department maintains 316 major, minor and private aids to navigation, and Law Enforcement crews conduct approximately 100 boardings each year.

Station's Website
http://www.uscg.mil/d9/staStIgnace/