PORT ANGELES — Coast Guard Group/Air Station Port Angeles will become Air Station/Sector Field Office Port Angeles on Friday.
A small ceremony for Coast Guard personnel is planned for Friday at 9 a.m., said Lt. Jane Carley, Coast Guard spokeswoman. The ceremony is not open to the public.
The change is part of a regional reorganization and consolidation into Sector Puget Sound. It is a part of a Coast-Guard-wide modernization to streamline the organization.
Coast Guard officials say the name change will have no effect on the Port Angeles station or its response capabilities.
The Coast Guard base in Port Angeles has held the “group” title since 1944.
“These changes will better allow the Coast Guard to carry out its wide range of operational missions and better serve the boating public and maritime industry in Washington with one Coast Guard command and control system,” according to a Coast Guard statement released Wednesday.
Rear Adm. Gary T. Blore, commander of the 13th Coast Guard District, said one Coast Guard captain will have authority in all of Puget Sound and the Strait of Juan de Fuca.
“I want to assure you that this is a much better way to affect command and control than it has to do with any loss of units or presence in this area,” Blore said during a change of command ceremony last week in Port Angeles.
“In fact, you won’t lose any units.
“Stations Quillayute River, Neah Bay, Port Angeles and Bellingham will remain online and be ready to respond to any task. It is simply a better and more effective way to do command and control.”
Richard “Tony” Hahn took command of the Port Angeles station last Friday.
Capt. Scott Pollock, the former commanding officer, becomes deputy commander of Sector Puget Sound in Seattle.
The emergency contact number for Coast Guard Sector Puget Sound is 206-217-6001.
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Reporter Rob Ollikainen can be reached at 360-417-3537 or at rob.ollikainen@peninsuladailynews.com.
