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CHESAPEAKE, Va. – Capt. Frank E. Pedras, Jr., commanding officer of Communications Area Master Station Atlantic, transferred command to Cmdr. Andrew T. Campen during a change of command ceremony at Naval Support Activity Hampton Roads, Northwest Annex in Chesapeake, on Friday June 21, 2013.
Campen assumed command following his recently completed a tour of duty as Chief of Information Assurance and Cyber Operations at the Joint Interagency Task Force-South in Key West, Fla.
Captain Pedras is slated to become the Chief of the C4IT and Security Division at the Coast Guard’s Atlantic Area Command in Portsmouth, Va.
“I thank my dedicated CAMSLANT crew, and the entire Atlantic Area communications system who work behind the scenes to ensure our operators— our aviators and surface crew— and the maritime public stay connected through interoperable communications during critical operations and for Safety of Life at Sea,” said Pedras. “Our work is lesser known in the larger scheme of things, but no less important as the mission itself.”
Under Captain Pedras’ leadership, operational highlights for the past three years include telecommunications support for:
- United Nations General Assembly, 2010
- Deepwater Horizon oil Spill, 2010
- Hurricane Irene 2011
- NATO Summit, 2012
- Republican National Convention 2012
- Hurricane Isaac, 2012
- United States/Mexico Joint Communications Exercise
- Hurricane Sandy – New York, 2012
- HMS Bounty rescue, 2012
- OPSAIL War of 1812, 2012
- Mississippi River Low Water Event, 2013
- Launch of the joint Coast Guard and Customs and Border Protection communications partnership at the National Law Enforcement Communications Center in Orlando Fla.
The change of command ceremony is a time-honored tradition which formally restates the continuity of command will be maintained and is a formal ritual conducted before the assembled company of command. It conveys to the officers, enlisted members, civilian employees and auxiliary members of the Coast Guard that although the authority of command is relinquished by a leader and is assumed by another, it is still maintained without interruption.
CAMSLANT is the lead station for the Atlantic Area Communications System which also consists of COMMSTA Boston, COMMSTA New Orleans, COMMSTA Miami and a detachment at the Customs and Border Protection’s National Law Enforcement Communications Center in Orlando, Fla.
Staffed and operated by over 100 telecommunications professionals CAMSLANT offers a full spectrum of telecommunications services supporting Coast Guard operators, partner agencies and organizations worldwide. CAMSLANT also maintains and deploys contingency communications to provide command and control support for natural disaster recovery, special operations, and other emergencies.
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