EVERETT – The Everett-based Navy unit that serves the Pacific Northwest’s smaller warships lost its admiral but picked up a new name and commander Tuesday.
Naval Surface Group Pacific Northwest became a new Navy command during a brief ceremony this week. The organization will be called Regional Support Organization Pacific Northwest. Capt. Scott Mobley took over as commander of the reorganized organization.
Rear Adm. Leendert R. Hering Sr., former commander of Naval Surface Group Pacific Northwest, will continue to serve as the commander of Navy Region Northwest.
Hering said he had mixed emotions over the move, made as part of a Navy-wide effort to streamline operations and enhance fleet support.
Naval Surface Group Pacific Northwest has long served as commander, mentor and watchdog for the area’s surface fleet, he said.
“In an ever-changing world, folks, we have got to be prepared to adapt to the changes, in ourselves and our organization,” he said.
Mobley said it was the fourth defining moment in the organization’s 40-year history.
He recalled how it has served as a major command for more than two decades, and had more than 14 ships under its umbrella during the Navy’s big-fleet heyday in the mid-1980s.
The command moved to Everett in 1995. The unit has been reinvented repeatedly to respond to the changing needs of national security.
Today, the organization provides technical and administrative support for the destroyers USS Momsen and USS Shoup, the frigates USS Ford, USS Rodney M. Davis and USS Ingraham, as well as the Bremerton-based USS Camden, a fast-combat support ship.
About 30 sailors will serve in the new command once the dust settles, about half the size the organization had five years ago.
“The Navy is transforming all over. This is just one manifestation of that,” Mobley said.
Mobley said his sailors, and entities outside his organization, won’t see any change with the transition.
“For the ships we support, it will be completely transparent,” he said.
Reporter Brian Kelly: 425-339-3422 or kelly@heraldnet.com.
Canadian Navy visits Everett
Four Canadian minesweepers pulled into Naval Station Everett on Tuesday afternoon for an overnight port visit.
The HMCS Brandon, the HMCS Whitehorse, the HMCS Nanaimo and the HMCS Yellowknife are all part of Canada’s Pacific Fleet. The Kingston-class maritime coastal defense ships each carry a crew of about 35.
The visiting sailors were given liberty while in Everett, but they didn’t have much time to explore. The ships are expected to leave Naval Station Everett today.
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