Coast Guard Cutter Venturous changes command **Media Availability**

DATE: August 3, 2009 12:28:06 PM EDT

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

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News Release

Date:
Aug. 3, 2009

Contact:
Petty Officer Rob Simpson
305-965-4672

Coast Guard Cutter Venturous changes command
**Media Availability**

Editor's note: Media invited to attend the ceremony are asked to arrive at Coast Guard Sector St. Petersburg’s South Moorings located at 1301 Beach Drive S.E., in St. Petersburg no later than 9:45 a.m. Please contact PA3 Rob Simpson at 305-965-4672 to gain access to the base. Interviews with St. Pierre and Thompson will be available after the ceremony.

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - The Coast Guard Cutter Venturous is scheduled to conduct a change of command ceremony Tuesday at 10 a.m. at Coast Guard Sector St. Petersburg's South Moorings.

Cmdr. Edward M. St. Pierre will relieve Cmdr. Robert K. Thompson as Commanding Officer of Coast Guard Cutter Venturous, a 210-foot medium-endurance cutter, home-ported in St. Petersburg.

St. Pierre was most recently assigned as the Coast Guard’s Senate Liaison and facilitated all Coast Guard interaction with the U.S. Senate.

In 1991 St. Pierre graduated from the United States Coast Guard Academy, in New London, Conn., with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Management. Following graduation, he served aboard three afloat units and one land station before attending Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University in Blacksburg, Va., where he earned a Master’s Degree in Business Administration. Upon graduation, he reported to Coast Guard Headquarters where he served as a Funds Manager from 2001 to 2004. He then served as Executive Officer of the Coast Guard Cutter Vigilant in Port Canaveral, Fla. He next attended the Naval Command and Staff College in Newport, R.I. and graduated with a Master’s Degree in National Security Studies.

St. Pierre’s personal awards include three Coast Guard Commendation Medals and the Coast Guard Achievement Medal.

Thompson will be reporting to the office of Planning and Performance at Coast Guard headquarters in Washington, D.C.

The change of command ceremony is a time-honored tradition preserving the rich heritage of naval tradition. It is a formal custom that follows military protocol and is designed to strengthen respect for the continuity of command that is vital to any military organization. The culmination of the ceremony is reached when both officers read their orders, face one another, salute, and transfer total responsibility for the command. This provides the entire crew with the knowledge that an officer directed by proper authority is taking command and offers an opportunity to witness this transfer of responsibility.

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