U.S. Coast Guard Cmdr. Todd Batten relieved Cmdr. Ryan Waters as commanding officer of the USCGC Vigorous (WMEC 627) during a change of command ceremony, Friday, at Coast Guard Base Portsmouth.
Capt. Brian Anderson, chief of operations of Coast Guard Atlantic Area, presided over the ceremony.
Batten previously served as the deputy chief of Cutter Forces.
Waters served as the commanding officer of Vigorous from July 2021 to June 2023. Waters’ next assignment will be a fellowship to the office of the director of National Intelligence.
The change of command ceremony marks a transfer of total responsibility and authority from one individual to another. It is a time-honored tradition to formally demonstrate the continuity of authority within a command conducted before the assembled crew and esteemed guests and dignitaries.
Vigorous is a 210-foot, Reliance-class medium endurance cutter. The cutter’s primary missions are counter-narcotics operations, migrant interdiction, living marine resources protection, and search and rescue in support of U.S. Coast Guard operations throughout the Western Hemisphere.
