A time-honored change of command ceremony was held aboard the Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Kidd (DDG 100) while underway in the South China Sea, June 25.
During the ceremony, Cmdr. Thomas Zerr assumed command of Kidd from Cmdr. Gabriel Varela, marking the end of three years as executive and commanding officer for Varela.
Before officially being relieved, Varela assured the crew of his confidence in Zerr as their new leader.
Zerr said: “Together, we will continue to accomplish every mission and work together, and we will continue to set the standard even higher in proper Kidd fashion.”
Kidd, homeported in San Diego, is on a scheduled deployment supporting maritime security operations and theater security cooperation efforts in the U.S. 7th Fleet area of operations.
[mappress] Press Release, June 25, 2014; Image: Wikimedia