SAN DIEGO — The Coast Guard Cutter Munro (WMSL 755) held a change-of-command ceremony Friday in San Diego.
Rear Adm. Jeffrey Novak, deputy commander of Coast Guard Pacific Area and commander of Coast Guard District Southwest, presided over the ceremony in which Capt. Adam Disque relieved Capt. James O’Mara as Munro’s commanding officer.
O’Mara served as Munro’s commanding officer from May 2024 to June 2026. Under his leadership, Munro conducted global operations, including counter-narcotics patrols in the Eastern Pacific Ocean, enforcement of living marine resources laws and protection of U.S. sovereignty in the Bering Sea, and support to Operation Southern Spear in the Caribbean Sea.
During Munro’s most recent patrol, O’Mara and his crew interdicted a heavily laden go-fast vessel operating along known smuggling routes in the Eastern Pacific. The crew detained six suspected narco-terrorists and seized 22,052 pounds of cocaine valued at more than $250 million — the largest maritime drug seizure in 18 years. Shortly afterward, Munro patrolled the Caribbean Sea in support of Operation Southern Spear, where the cutter located and identified the dark fleet motor tanker Bella 1, a U.S.-sanctioned vessel determined to be without nationality and subject to U.S. jurisdiction. Munro’s crew pursued the non-compliant vessel across the North Atlantic Ocean for 18 days and more than 4,900 miles, culminating in a boarding in which Munro worked alongside Department of War assets to seize control of the 333-meter crude oil carrier for transfer to the Department of Justice and the Department of Homeland Security.
“You simply will not find a crew more adaptable, resilient and committed to mission accomplishment — and to each other — than the crew of Munro,” said O’Mara. “Serving alongside these men and women has been the honor of my professional career. I’m grateful to them and their families for excelling beyond service and national expectations at every opportunity and challenge.”
Disque reports to Munro after attending the U.S. Naval War College in Newport, Rhode Island.
“It is a sincere privilege to take command of Munro,” said Disque. “Munro is a special cutter with a proud history in our service. Her crew is clearly dedicated to the mission and ready for action. I am honored to lead this exceptional team and to serve the priorities of our nation.”
O’Mara will next serve as the chief of response for Coast Guard District Southwest in Alameda.
The change-of-command ceremony is a time-honored tradition that formally transfers responsibility, authority, and accountability from one commanding officer to another.
Commissioned in 2017, Munro is one of four Legend-class national security cutters homeported in Alameda. National security cutters are 418-feet long with a beam of 54-feet, a top speed of more than 28 knots, a range of 12,000 nautical miles and endurance of up to 90 days. The cutter can accommodate a crew of up to 170. The advanced technologies of national security cutters support national objectives including safeguarding America’s maritime borders and providing long-range search and rescue capabilities.
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