BALTIMORE — Lt. Danielle Taylor will assume command of the newly established Coast Guard Marine Safety Unit Lewes as the unit’s first commanding officer during an assumption of command ceremony at the Cape May-Lewes Ferry Terminal in Lewes, Delaware, May 29, 2024.
Taylor, the current supervisor of Marine Safety Detachment Lewes which will be disestablished, will be the first Coast Guard commanding officer in Delaware and is a significant milestone in the local marine safety community.
The current personnel of MSD Lewes will be plankowners, or first personnel, of MSU Lewes. The team, along with the parent unit, has been spearheading local process changes to logistics and administrative processes, restructuring duties, and forming strong relationships with local partners.
MSU Lewes will use this changeover as an opportunity to reestablish and strengthen relationships with maritime partners and other government agencies in the area, including encouraging industry to stand up a Harbor Safety Committee for the state of Delaware, to provide an outlet for industry partners not close to the greater Philadelphia area.
In October of 2023, the commandant of the Coast Guard approved a request to convert 18 detached units to junior command units. The selected units were identified by the Junior Command Opportunities Work Group and selected based on a variety of factors such as mission complexity, distance from other Coast Guard units, and the personnel allowance list. The request, drafted by the Coast Guard Deputy Commandant for Operations, was in response to a research and development study that identified a need for junior command opportunities in marine safety.
The changeover to a Marine Safety Unit will be a complete transfer of military justice power and other military personnel authority. It will not affect changes to the Captain of the Port or Officer in Charge Marine Inspection zones. External partners will not be affected by this transfer of power.
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