Cmdr. Mark Fegley relieved Cmdr. Jonathan Lipps, as commanding officer of U.S. Aegis Ashore Missile Defense System (AAMDS) Romania during a change of command ceremony on May 18, in Deveselu, Romania, officiated by Vice Adm. Christopher W. Grady, commander, U.S. 6th Fleet.

During the ceremony, Grady spoke of Lipps' accomplishment in bringing AAMDS Romania fully operational.

"Johnathan, you and the entire team have made history making this hybrid combat system work. The military and civilian team collaborates in a way people outside this base may find difficult to comprehend, but you make it look easy," said Grady. "For a century, America has stood shoulder-to-shoulder with Europe. U.S. 6th Fleet has been resolute, ready, and lethal on arrival in support of our nation and our allies and now, you always keep your cutlass sharp."

Lipps was one of the first missile defense specialty career path officers and will be the first ballistic missile defense (BMD) officer promoted to Navy captain, when he advances to the paygrade in Oct. 2017.

During his remarks, Lipps expressed appreciation for the support and hospitality offered by the armed forces and the people of Romania; noting specifically the leadership of the Romanian 99th Military Base, co-located with Naval Support Facility Deveselu.

"Early in my tour I told our Sailors there is no host nation. There are no fence lines or boundaries between bases. Divides between Sailors and civilians do not exist here; instead, there is simply our mission," said Lipps "We are defending our home and we live here."

Adhering to a time-honored tradition, both Lipps and Fegley read their orders to the assembled crew. Following an exchange of salutes and subsequent reports to Capt. Shanti R. Sethi, commander, Task Force (CTF) 64, commodore, Fegley assumed command.

Fegley, a native of Gosnell, Arkansas, received a Bachelor of Science in engineering from Arkansas State University and commissioned through Officer Candidate School in 1995. He also earned a Master of Science in operations management from University of Arkansas, a Master of Science in electrical engineering from Naval Postgraduate School, and a Master of Strategic Studies from the U.S. Air Force Air War College.

Fegley reports to AAMDS Romania from Commander, Operational Test and Evaluation Force in Norfolk

Established two years ago in support of the presidential mandate to provide ballistic missile defense for Europe, AAMDS Romania is the land-based component of the Aegis BMD System that utilizes many of the same components used at sea on guided-missile destroyers and cruisers, to include the Aegis weapon system, vertical launch system, and SPY-1 radar.

AAMDS Romania includes more than 100 Sailors stationed at Deveselu, Romania, and Dam Neck, Virginia. AAMDS is under the operational control of Commander, U.S. 6th Fleet and executed through CTF-64, the U.S. Navy's integrated air and missile defense task force in Europe.

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