Cmdr. Peter Halvorsen relieved Cmdr. Ken Pickard as commanding officer of guided-missile destroyer USS Carney (DDG 64) during an at-sea change of command ceremony Nov. 5.

Capt. Richard Dromerhauser, commodore, Destroyer Squadron 60, presided over the ceremony on Carney's flight deck.

Quotes:

"Ken, you and your crew have performed superbly across a wide range of tasking, most notably your operations with our Black Sea partners and supporting USS Wasp (LHD 1) fight terrorism in Libya as part of Operation Odyssey Lightning. Your leadership, devotion to duty, and personal commitment to those who stand watch day and night earned the respect of all who have served with you. I thank you and wish you fair winds and following seas." - Capt. Rich Dromerhauser, commodore, Destroyer Squadron 60

"Your performance on these last two patrols is nothing short of inspiring to me. You make my job easy. Continue to take care of each other; you've got a great CO taking over. He's smart, he's brilliant, he cares about you, and he's a really good guy. Give him everything that you gave me. This is a great ship, it's got a great reputation, and we've continued that." - Cmdr. Ken Pickard, commanding officer, USS Carney (DDG 64)

"'Carney Nation,' thank you for the last 18 months and all that we've accomplished under Commander Pickard's leadership. Thank you for trusting in me to carry this ship forward to what I know will be additional successes here in 6th Fleet. We are Carney Nation, 505 feet of American fighting steel, and together we are unstoppable." - Cmdr. Peter Halvorsen, commanding officer, USS Carney (DDG 64)

Quick Facts:

While commanding officer of Carney, Pickard successfully completed a 6-month ballistic missile defense (BMD) deployment to the Arabian Gulf, led the ship through a transition from Mayport, Florida, to Rota, Spain, and two ballistic missile defense patrols in the U.S. 6th Fleet area of operations.

Halvorsen received his commission from the United States Naval Academy in 1998 with a bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering. His sea tours include combat information center officer, damage control assistant, and navigator aboard guided-missile cruiser USS Vella Gulf (CG 72); operations officer aboard USS O'Kane (DDG 77); operations officer for Destroyer Squadron 26 embarked aboard aircraft carrier USS Harry S. Truman (CVN 75); and executive officer of Carney.

Carney will continue its regularly scheduled patrol in the 6th Fleet area of operations.

U.S. 6th Fleet, headquarted 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, security and stability in Europe and Africa.

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