Capt. Daniel D. Sunvold relieved Capt. Juan J. Orozco as the commanding officer of guided-missile cruiser USS Leyte Gulf (CG 55) during a shipboard ceremony Nov. 16.

Orozco took command in May 2015 and led "America's Battle Cruiser" during a nine-month modernization period and an extensive basic phase. Orozco's follow-on assignment is the director of combat systems readiness (N6) at Commander, Naval Surface Force Atlantic in Norfolk, Va.

Sunvold is the 17th commanding officer to lead Leyte Gulf and has assumed command at a crucial point in the basic phase as the Aegis-class cruiser prepares to join the George H.W. Bush Carrier Strike Group. Prior to commanding Leyte Gulf, Sunvold was the Intelligence Support Chief and subsequently, deputy commander, Joint Planning Support Element (JPSE), Joint Enabling Capabilities Command (JECC), Unites States Transportation Command (USTRANSCOM).

USS Leyte Gulf (CG 55) is a Ticonderoga-class, guided-missile cruiser homeported in Norfolk, Va. She was commissioned in Fort Lauderdale, Florida in September, 1987. These ships are multi-mission surface combatants capable of supporting carrier battle groups, amphibious forces, or of operating independently and as flagships of surface action groups. She was named in memory of the World War II Battle of Leyte Gulf in the Pacific.

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