Capt. Adan Cruz, commodore of Task Force (TF) 55, was the presiding officer and guest speaker at the ceremony.
“You are a superb surface warfare officer,” said Cruz about Anderson. “You know how to accomplish a mission regardless of restraints that may come your way. I can tell that all of your decisions were made with your crew in mind. Your crew has done a remarkable job and all crews need to be properly lead to succeed. You have done that.”
When Anderson began his tour as commanding officer on the Chinook in May 2017, the ship had just finished a maintenance period. Nearly all of Anderson’s time as commanding officer was spent “haze gray and underway” with his crew.
During his time in command Chinook accomplished numerous maritime security missions in support of Task Forces 50, 52, 53, 55, 56, and 565, to include theater security cooperation exercises with Combined Maritime Forces navies and coalition partners in the U.S. 5th Fleet. In addition, Chinook participated in several focused operations in support of national tasking throughout the Arabian Gulf and Gulf of Oman.
“This is Chinook,” said Anderson, gesturing toward his ship. “It is made of steel. She is a vessel filled with engines topped with weaponry, powered by computers, but she is just a thing. The essence of Chinook is her crew. I would put your spirit and tenacity against any ship in the Fleet. I will never forget our time together.”
During the ceremony, Anderson and Tom read their orders and changed command. After taking command of the Chinook, Tom addressed the audience.
“Your final edict to me was to take care of your crew, and I’ll never forget that,” said Tom. “To the crew of USS Chinook, It’s been an honor to get to know you over the past couple of weeks. I can’t wait to serve with you over the next two years.
Chinook is one of 10 PCs forward deployed to Manama, Bahrain and is assigned to Task Force 55, which is responsible for surface forces in the U.S. 5th Fleet area of operations, to include U.S. Navy coastal patrol ships and U.S. Coast Guard cutters.
U.S. 5th Fleet area of operations encompasses about 2.5 million square miles of water area and includes the Arabian Gulf, Gulf of Oman, Red Sea and parts of the Indian Ocean. The expanse is comprised of 20 countries and includes three critical choke points at the Strait of Hormuz, the Suez Canal and the Strait of Bab al-Mandeb at the southern tip of Yemen.