Capt. William R. Ellis relieved Capt. Bryan W. Durkee as commodore of Commander, Task Force 67, during a change of command ceremony at Naval Air Station Sigonella, Aug. 2.

Commodore Durkee commanded CTF 67 from June 2014 to August 2016 and his next assignment will be to the office of the Chief of Naval Operations staff in the Pentagon.

Quote:

"To the men and women of Task Force Six Seven, thank you. It has truly been a humbling experience to serve with you for the past two years. We have been at full throttle, or '1010', as we say, coordinating with our allies and executing operations at increasing levels every year."
- Capt. Bryan W. Durkee

"CTF 67 assets are enormous combat enablers, and have supported missions across two continents, to including coalition missions within the Somali Basin, Red Sea, Gulf of Oman and Gulf of Aden. Maritime patrol aircraft will continue to be a fundamental aspect of warfare at sea. Commodore Durkee worked tirelessly to ensure all of the preparations were made to incorporate the new P-8s into the area of operations."
- Vice Adm. James G. Foggo III, commander, U.S. 6th Fleet

Quick Facts:

In attendance were Adm. Michelle J. Howard, commander, U.S. Naval Forces Europe-Africa; guest speaker Vice Adm. James G. Foggo III, commander, U.S. 6th Fleet; and Rear Adm. Kyle Cozad, commander, Patrol and Reconnaissance Group, Europe.

During Durkee's command, CTF 67 was supported by four operational deployments from Patrol Squadrons Four, Nine, and Forty-Seven from Kaneohe Bay, Hawaii, and multiple detachments from Fleet Air Reconnaissance Squadron One, from Whidbey Island, Washington. His command saw the first theater anti-submarine warfare operations conducted in years, supported operations Active Endeavor, Atlantic Resolve, and Inherent Resolve, including the first U.S. aircraft carrier-based strikes launched from the Mediterranean since 1999, and multi-national and allied exercises including BALTOPS, Dynamic Manta, Breeze, Sea Shield and Sea Breeze.

U.S. 6th Fleet, headquartered in Naples, Italy, conducts the full spectrum of joint and naval operations, often in concert with allied, joint, and interagency partners, in order to advance U.S. national interests and security and stability in Europe and Africa.

For more information, visit http://www.navy.mil, http://www.facebook.com/usnavy, or http://www.twitter.com/usnavy.

For more news from Commander, U.S. Naval Forces Europe and Africa/U.S. 6th Fleet, visit http://www.navy.mil/.