Multimedia Release: Crews of Kodiak-based Coast Guard Cutters SPAR, Munro hold change

[The Patriot]

Editors note: For high resolution photos or to download or view video please click on the corresponding image below. Note video will not be pixelated.

KODIAK, Alaska - Lt. Cmdr. Michele Schallip assumed command of the Coast Guard Cutter SPAR from Lt. Cmdr. Keith Ropella during a formal change of ceremony aboard the cutter June 10, 2011.

Ropella has commanded the bouytender SPAR, the Aleutian Keeper, since 2008.

U.S. Coast Guard video by Petty Officer 1st Class Sara Francis.

KODIAK, Alaska - Lt. Cmdr. Michele Schallip, the incoming commanding officer of the Coast Guard Cutter SPAR, inspects the ship's company during a formal change of command ceremony aboard the bouytender SPAR June 10, 2011.

The inspection of the ship's company is a tradition conducted between the outgoing and incoming commanding officers of a vessel.

U.S. Coast Guard photo by Petty Officer 3rd Class Jonathan Lally.



KODIAK, Alaska - Lt. Cmdr. Keith Ropella, outgoing commanding officer of the Coast Guard Cutter SPAR, and Lt. Cmdr. Michele Schallip, incoming commanding officer of the SPAR, share a laugh during a formal change of ceremony aboard the cutter June 10, 2011.

Ropella has commanded the bouytender SPAR, the Aleutian Keeper, since 2008.

U.S. Coast Guard photo by Petty Officer 3rd Class Jonathan Lally.

KODIAK, Alaska - Lt. Cmdr. Michele Schallip, left, reports her assumption of command of the Coast Guard Cutter SPAR to Capt. Craig Lloyd, 17th Coast Guard District chief of response, center, during a formal change of command ceremony aboard the bouytender SPAR June 10, 2011.

Schallip assumed command of the cutter from Lt. Cmdr. Keith Ropella, right, while Lloyd presided over the ceremony.

U.S. Coast Guard photo by Petty Officer 3rd Class Jonathan Lally.

KODIAK, Alaska - Capt. Mark Cawthorn assumed command of the Coast Guard Cutter Munro from Capt. Matthew Bell during a formal change of command ceremony at the Coast Guard Base Kodiak gym June 10, 2011.

Rear Adm. Christopher Colvin, deputy commander Coast Guard Pacific Area, presided over the ceremony.

U.S. Coast Guard video by Petty Officer 1st Class Sara Francis.

KODIAK, Alaska - Rear Adm. Christopher Colvin, deputy commander Coast Guard Pacific Area, left, presents Capt. Matthew Bell, commanding officer of the Coast Guard Cutter Munro, the Meritorious Service Medal during a formal change of command ceremony at the Coast Guard Base Kodiak gym June 10, 2011.

Bell served as the commanding officer of the Munro from 2009 to 2011.

U.S. Coast Guard photo by Petty Officer 3rd Class Jonathan Lally.

KODIAK, Alaska - Capt. Matthew Bell, commanding officer of the Coast Guard Cutter Munro, hands his wife a bouquet of flowers as a token of appreciation during a formal change of command ceremony at the Coast Guard Base Kodiak gym June 10, 2011.

Both Bell and presiding officer Rear Adm. Christopher Colvin spoke highly of the crucial support of Coast Guard families enabling the crew to be successful in their missions, while they spend hundreds of days at sea.

U.S. Coast Guard photo by Petty Officer 3rd Class Jonathan Lally.

KODIAK, Alaska - Capt. Mark Cawthorn, left, reports his assumption of command of the Coast Guard Cutter Munro to Rear Adm. Christopher Colvin, deputy commander Coast Guard Pacific Area, center, during a formal change of command ceremony at the Coast Guard Base Kodiak gym June 10, 2011.

Cawthorn assumed command of the cutter from Capt. Matthew Bell, right, while Colvin presided over the ceremony.

U.S. Coast Guard photo by Petty Officer 3rd Class Jonathan Lally.

For more information please contact Petty Officer 3rd Class Jonathan Lally at 907-321-4176.




More...