On Thursday, Capt. Andrew M. Sugimoto of the U.S. Coast Guard will relieve Capt. Charles L. Cashin III as the leader of the of USCG Cutter Stratton during a formal ceremony at Alameda’s Coast Guard Island.
The Change of Command Ceremony is a time-honored tradition – unique in its military ritual, which represents a total transfer of responsibility, authority and accountability from one leader to the next.
The Change of Command Ceremony begins at 10:30 a.m. and will be presided over by Vice Adm. Paul F. Zukunft, Commander, Pacific Area and Defense Forces West.
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Sugimoto reports to Stratton from Cleveland, where he served as Chief, Incident Management Branch of the Ninth Coast Guard District, reports MarineLink.com. His previous responsibilities included overseeing all five Great Lakes, the Saint Lawrence Seaway and parts of the surrounding states, including 1,500 miles of international border.
Cashin is a native of Chelmsford, Mass., and has served aboard seven cutters, commanding three of them. He is a 1988 graduate of the United States Coast Guard Academy where he earned a Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering. He also holds a Master of Public Administration from Harvard University and a Master of National Security and Strategic Studies from the United States Naval War College. He will serve as the Coast Guard Fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations in New York City once he is relieved.
The Stratton – home ported in Alameda – returned from a three-month deployment Saturday, where the ship patrolled the waters of Southern California for illicit drug smuggling activity, conducted exercises and training, among other things. It is the military branch’s third National Security cutter.
