Editors note: Photos and video of the change of command ceremony are available below. Click on the links and follow the provided instruction to download.
Video:
The official party reading of orders.
The official party fomally transfers command.
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JACKSONVILLE, Fla. - Rear Adm. Steve Branham, commander Seventh Coast Guard District, presides over a change of command ceremony where Capt. Paul Thomas relinquishes his duty as commander Coast Guard Sector Jacksonville to Capt. Andy Blomme, Friday, August 14, 2009, at the Jacksonville Port Authority’s cruise ship terminal. (U.S. Coast Guard photo/Petty Officer 3rd Class Cindy Beckert)
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JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Honors are rendered during a colors presentation at Coast Guard Sector Jacksonville’s change of command ceremony, Friday, August 14, 2009, at Jacksonville Port Authority’s cruise ship terminal. During the ceremony Capt. Paul Thomas relinquished his duty as commander to Capt. Andy Blomme. (U.S. Coast Guard photo/Petty Officer 3rd Class Cindy Beckert)
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JACKSONVILLE, Fla. - Coast Guard Capt. Andy Blomme relieved Capt. Paul Thomas as commander Coast Guard Sector Jacksonville during a ceremony held at the Jax Port Cruise Ship Terminal Friday.
Blomme is a Wilmington, N.C., native and most recently served as military assistant to the Secretary of Homeland Security. He is a 1985 graduate of the Coast Guard Academy in New London, Conn., and a 2001 graduate of the U.S. Army Command and General Staff College. Blomme holds a master’s degree from Central Michigan University and the Marine Corps War College.
Thomas departs as commander Sector Jacksonville following a 3-year stint at the helm. He will report to the Chief of Naval Operations Study Group at the Naval War College in Newport, R.I.
Sector Jacksonville’s area of responsibility spans from the Florida/Georgia border south to San Sebastian Inlet, Fla. Sector Jacksonville is directly responsible for seven commands and more than 500 Coast Guard members along the First Coast and Space Coast.
The change of command ceremony is a time-honored event preserved by the rich heritage of naval tradition. It is a custom that is formal and impressive and designed to strengthen the respect for the continuity of command that is vital to any military organization.
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