A time-honored change of command ceremony was held aboard the Los Angeles-class submarine USS Charlotte (SSN 766) at the submarine piers at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Oct. 5.
Cmdr. Richard Young, commanding officer of Charlotte was relieved by Cmdr. Andrew T. Miller.
Guest speaker Capt. James C. Childs, Commander of Submarine Squadron One, and Young’s former commanding officer and mentor, praised Young for his exceptional performance while in command of Charlotte.
“Cmdr. Young has demonstrated he has a great deal of technical expertise, self-sufficiency, ingenuity, mental toughness, creativity and skill, ” said Childs. “More importantly, he has imparted these traits to his crew – any captain’s ultimate goal.”
Following his remarks, Young was awarded the Meritorious Service Medal for his exceptional performance as commanding officer from April 2010 to Oct. 2012.
Young said he was honored to have the opportunity to command Charlotte and acknowledged that the majority of the submarine’s success during his time as commanding officer was because of the crew and their hard work.
“ The one word I think of to describe this entire crew is commitment, ” said Young to his assembled crew. “ You know what it means to get the job done, and I am extremely proud of how you did that time and time again without complaint.”
As Miller assumed command of Charlotte he addressed the crew about the future.
“My message to the men of Charlotte is: be ready ,” said Miller . “ The nation is counting on us to be men of integrity and courage, ready to defend freedom at home and abroad.”
Young’s personal awards include the Distinguished Service Medal, Meritorious Service Medal (two awards), Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal (three awards), Navy Marine Corps Achievement Medal (two awards) as well as numerous unit awards.
Young will report for duty to the office of the Chief of Naval Operations in Washington D.C. for work on current manpower allocation.
[mappress] Naval Today Staff, October 09, 2012; Image: Navy