New Commander aboard USS Asheville

The command of the Los Angeles-class fast attack submarine USS Asheville (SSN 758) welcomed a new commander in a time-honored change of command ceremony Aug. 12, atop the historic battleship USS Missouri, the “Mighty Mo.”

Cmdr. Paul Pampuro relieved Cmdr. Douglas Bradley as commanding officer.

In command for more than two years, Bradley led his submarine to complete a deployment certification, a six-month Western Pacific deployment, a homeport shift from San Diego to Pearl Harbor, and commenced a two-year shipyard maintenance period.

The ceremony’s guest speaker, Rear Adm. Phil Sawyer, commander of Submarine Force, U.S. Pacific Fleet, praised Bradley for an amazing job in command.

During the ceremony, Bradley was awarded the Meritorious Service Medal for his successes in command of Asheville from March 2012 to Aug. 2014.

As Pampuro assumed command of Asheville, he thanked Bradley for turning over a very capable ship and a highly loyal crew.

Asheville is the fourth ship of the U.S. Navy to be named for Asheville, North Carolina. She is a Los Angeles-class submarine, ideally suited for covert surveillance, intelligence gathering and special forces missions. This stealth, when combined with the submarine’s Tomahawk cruise missiles, mines and torpedoes, provides the operational commander with an unseen force multiplier.