Photo By Petty Officer 1st Class Juan Sua | 220512-N-CR843-0180 Misawa, Japan (May 12, 2022) - Cmdr. Matthew German, left,...... read more read more
Misawa, Japan—The “Fighting Tigers” of Patrol Squadron (VP) 8 conducted a change of command ceremony aboard a P-8A Poseidon aircraft Japan May 12, 2022.
Cmdr. Matthew German relieved Cmdr. Thomas Doran, becoming the 74th commanding officer of the “Fighting Tigers” of Patrol Squadron (VP) 8 during an in-flight change of command ceremony over the skies of northern Japan.
Capt. James Imlah, Deputy Commander, Commander Task Force (CTF) 72, presided over the ceremony and awarded Doran the Meritorious Service Medal on behalf of Commander, Patrol and Reconnaissance Group.
“The past year has been extremely busy with multiple home cycle detachments, numerous inspections, evaluations and countless maintenance actions,” said Doran. “Despite the challenges and adversities, our Sailors have excelled in every aspect while making the VP-8 family stronger than before.”
Under Doran’s leadership, VP-8 earned various accolades to include the Battle “E” for superior performance in an operational environment, the Arleigh Burke trophy for demonstrating the greatest improvement in battle efficiency from the previous year, the Retention Excellence award for sustaining superior levels of military retention, and the Navy Surgeon General’s health and wellness award also known as the Navy Blue “H” award for outstanding promotion of health and wellness.
German will lead VP-8 through the next five months of their scheduled deployment and well into the upcoming home cycle. As a leader who began his naval career as an enlisted Sailor before commissioning as a naval flight officer, German understands the challenges his Sailors encounter throughout their careers.
German said of Doran, “You led Fighting Tigers with grace, humility, and poise and truly embodied your command tenants of integrity, leadership, and a profession of arms. I am honored to carry the torch forward with the men and women of this outstanding squadron who keep it lit every day.”
The Fighting Tigers also welcomed Cmdr. James Reeves as the new executive officer.
VP-8 was commissioned as VP-201 in September 1942 in Norfolk, Virginia. During World War II, flying the sea-based PBM Mariner aircraft. In June 1947, the squadron transitioned to the land-based P-2V Neptune aircraft. The squadron was renamed to VP-8 in September 1948, and in October 1962, VP-8 became the first operational P-3 Orion squadron in the U.S. Navy. Following the squadron’s 37th P-3 Orion deployment, VP-8 transitioned to the P-8A Poseidon in 2015. VP-8 is currently deployed to NAF Misawa, Japan conducting maritime patrol and reconnaissance and theater outreach operations within U.S. 7th Fleet (C7F) area of operations in support of Commander, Task Force 72, C7F, and U.S. Indo-Pacific Command objectives throughout the region.
| Date Taken: | 05.12.2022 |
| Date Posted: | 05.25.2022 19:33 |
| Story ID: | 421538 |
| Location: | MISAWA AIR BASE, AOMORI, JP |
| Web Views: | 352 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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