Capt. James Beene relieved Capt. Todd Siddall as commanding officer of Naval Ordnance Safety and Security Activity (NOSSA) during a change of command ceremony at Farragut Hall, Naval Support Facility Indian Head, Maryland, July 8.

Beene reports to NOSSA from his previous assignment as the commanding officer of the Center for Explosive Ordnance Disposal and Diving in Panama City, Florida.

Beene is a Pflugerville, Texas native, and the son of a combat-seasoned WWII gunner's mate first class who left the Navy at war's end only to come back into the service two years later to complete a 17-year career as a Cold War B-52 Stratofortress command pilot. Beene followed in his father's footsteps, enlisting in the Navy in June 1977 and advancing to Senior Chief Hull Maintenance Technician before his commissioning in 1989. He served aboard aircraft carrier USS Forrestal (CV 59) and destroyer tender USS Yosemite (AD 19), and completed Deep Sea Diver training April 1980. His diver assignments include Naval Submarine Support Facility Groton, Connecticut; submarine rescue ship USS Pigeon (ASR 21); and Submarine Development Group 1 Mare Island, California.

Following his commissioning in April 1989, Beene served aboard USS Shenandoah (AD 44) as the diving and salvage officer and completed Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) training June 1993 -- serving subsequently in various operational and training billets.

Beene is a qualified deep sea diver, saturation diver, enlisted submarine warfare specialist, surface warfare officer, military freefall parachutist, master EOD technician, joint duty officer, and EOD officer. He holds a bachelor's degree from New York Regents University and a Master's Degree in management from Troy State University. In January 2007 he was re-designated as an unrestricted line EOD officer.

Siddall has served as the NOSSA commanding officer since January 2014 and will transition to the U.S. Special Operations Command, Washington Liaison Office.

NOSSA protects naval interests and the public by providing explosives and ordnance safety expertise, policy, oversight and knowledge transfer. As the Department of the Navy's Technical Authority for the Weapons and Explosives Safety program, the command's responsibilities span the life-cycle of weapons systems, ordnance and explosives including ordnance environmental support.

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