Coast Guard Sector Virginia holds change of command ceremony

PORTSMOUTH, Va. — U.S. Coast Guard Sector Virginia bid farewell to Capt. Peggy Britton and welcomed Capt. Brett Workman as the new sector commander during a change of command ceremony held Thursday at Coast Guard Training Center Yorktown in Yorktown, Virginia.

Rear Adm. Zeita Merchant, commander of the Coast Guard East District, presided over the ceremony, which is a time-honored tradition representing the formal transfer of authority, responsibility, and accountability for a unit.

Britton was assigned to Sector Virginia for two years before she retired from the Coast Guard after 26 years of service. During a period of unprecedented port expansion, her pioneering leadership ensured rigorous industry standards for the $12.2 billion Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind Project and the establishment of extensive protocols following the catastrophic collision with the Francis Scott Key Bridge to ensure that motor vessels entering the port can do so safely.

“Thank you for the trust, the collaboration, the selflessness, the checking your ego, and working together as a team that is the hallmark of Hampton Roads,” said Britton. “I will miss it incredibly. Captain Workman, you are in great hands because this community is fortified.”

Workman arrived at Sector Virginia after serving as the chief of planning at Coast Guard Atlantic Area. Prior to that, he was the chief of response for Coast Guard Sector Delaware Bay, a liaison officer for the Navy Warfare Development Command, and chief of the Incident Management Division for Coast Guard Sector San Juan.

“I am incredibly impressed with the caliber of Coast Guard professionals who make up the Sector Virginia Team,” Workman said. “I look forward to working alongside them and our vital port partners to ensure we continue to provide the exceptional level of maritime safety and security that the citizens of Virginia and our nation deserve.”

With more than 3,300 nautical miles of shoreline from Maryland to the North Carolina border and waterways extending over 200 nautical miles of offshore, Sector Virginia is one of 37 sectors driving the nation’s maritime security and prosperity. It enables $105 billion in annual economic activity, and its mission-ready forces are dedicated to safeguarding America’s maritime interests, protecting the public, and ensuring the security of vital waterways.

Home to “America’s First Port” in Jamestown, Virginia, the greater Port of Virginia possesses the East Coast’s deepest-water harbor, serves as the nation’s largest coal exporter, and hosts the world’s largest naval base and fleet concentration area.

-USCG-