Amphibious transport dock ship USS Green Bay (LPD 20) conducted a change of command ceremony Aug. 1 during which Capt. Kristy McCallum assumed command of Green Bay relieving Capt. Gregory Huffman.
“We have worked together to get this ship through a tough yard period, through a challenging light off and crew certification and into the heart of the basic training phase,” said Huffman. “Our task was to get the ship and ourselves out of the maintenance phase and ready for FDNF (forward deployed naval forces), and we did that better than anyone on the waterfront.”
During the ceremony Huffman made it his last act as commanding officer to advance four outstanding Sailors through the command advancement program and recognize three Sailors with leadership awards.
While under Huffman’s command the ship completed a 48 week depot level availability and dry docking at record pace. Huffman also put Green Bay on the path to meet all of the requirements for an accelerated basic training phase and the upcoming homeport shift to the U.S. Seventh Fleet Area of Responsibility.
McCallum served as Green Bay’s executive officer before assuming the role of commanding officer. In her speech she quoted Vince Lombardi, “if we chase perfection, we can catch excellence.”
Green Bay is currently in the Basic Phase of training in preparation for forward deployment to Sasebo, Japan early next year.