Coast Guard to Hold Change of Command

U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Vigorous is scheduled to hold a change-of-command ceremony at the ship's homeport here. During the ceremony, Cmdr. Glenn Grahl will be formally relieved as commanding officer of the cutter by Cmdr. Paul Flynn. The CGC Vigorous is a 210-ft. medium-endurance cutter homeported at Coast Guard Training Center Cape May. Flynn began his Coast Guard career in 1991 on CGC Papaw, out of Galveston, Texas. In 1993, he was selected as the commanding officer of CGC Point Baker, out of Sabine, Texas. In 1995, Flynn attended the University of Rhode Island graduate school earning a Master's Degree in Marine Affairs. Following graduate school, Flynn was assigned to the Office of Law Enforcement, 17th Coast Guard District in Juneau, Alaska. In 1998, Flynn assumed command of the North Pacific Regional Fisheries Training Center in Kodiak, Alaska, responsible for training all Coast Guard personnel conducting domestic and international fisheries law enforcement in the North Pacific Ocean.

In 2001, Flynn returned to sea as executive officer aboard CGC Steadfast, out of Astoria, Ore. The crew of Steadfast completed two counter-drug patrols in the eastern Pacific Ocean, interdicting more than four tons of marijuana. In April 2003, Flynn reported to the White House where he served as the Coast Guard Military Aide to the vice president. During his tour, Flynn traveled extensively throughout the United States, Europe and Asia coordinating military support for the vice president. In 2005, he was assigned to the Coast Guard Personnel Command, Enlisted Assignments Branch in Arlington, Va., where he served until March 2007. Flynn is a 1991 graduate of the U.S. Coast Guard Academy in New London, Conn.

Grahl is finishing his command of CGC Vigorous to assume command of Coast Guard Patrol Forces Southwest Asia (PATFORSWA) in Bahrain. Previous commanding officer assignments include CGC Chandeleur, out of Miami, Fla., and Tactical Law Enforcement Team (TACLET) South. Grahl's command of TACLET South saw him leading Coast Guard personnel engaged in maritime law enforcement, homeland security and anti-terrorism operations in the Persian Gulf, Eastern Pacific and Caribbean Sea. Under Grahl, CGC Vigorous has conducted several migrant- and drug-interdiction patrols in the Caribbean. The crew of Cutter Vigorous has also spent a large part of time in the North Atlantic successfully conducting fisheries and homeland security operations.

The change-of-command is a time-honored naval tradition where the current commanding officer is formally relieved in a ceremony with unit personnel, family and friends in attendance. This ceremony highlights the responsibility of command and clearly demonstrates the transfer of that responsibility from one commanding officer to the next, while still maintaining the ability of the unit to operate successfully. The presiding official for this ceremony will be the Coast Guard's Chief of Atlantic Area Operational Forces, Capt. Bradley Jacobs.