USS Stout Holds Change of Command Ceremony
By: Lt.jg. Ian Tumulty, USS Stout Public Affairs
Norfolk (July 21, 2023) - On the flight deck of the guided-missile destroyer USS Stout (DDG 55), Cmdr. Desmond Walker relieved Capt. Scott Rosetti as Commanding Officer during a change of command ceremony at Naval Station Norfolk, Friday.
Capt. Rosetti temporarily assumed command in June of 2023. During his short time in command, he led Stout through the final stages of its engineering assessments to get the ship back underway for the first time in over two years. He also commanded the ship through multiple seamanship and navigation assessments at sea.
"Your energy may come and go, but you must always guard your spirit, and STOUT's spirit is something I have never questioned as it carried them through every challenge and ultimately back out to sea," stated Rosetti as he addressed the crew and guests during the ceremony.
Walker is a native of Hollandale, Mississippi. He enlisted in the Navy in 1996 and was commissioned through the Seaman-to-Admiral 21 program in 2005 from the Hampton Roads NROTC. Walker graduated from Norfolk State University with a Bachelor of Science in Electronics Technology. He also holds a Master's in Engineering Management from Old Dominion University and a Master's in Business Administration from Central Michigan University. He completed Joint Professional Military Education Phase I in 2015.
"To the Officers and Sailors of USS Stout, I am humbled and honored to be your Captain," said Walker as he assumed command. "I am proud of you. I am proud to lead you. Courage, Valor,
Integrity... let's work," he concluded.
Walker's sea duty assignments include Well Deck and Small Boats Division Officer and Assistant Training Officer on USS Bataan (LHD 5), Reactor Laboratories Division Officer aboard USS Harry S. Truman (CVN 75), Operations Officer on USS Carney (DDG 64), and
Chemistry/Radiological Controls Assistant aboard USS Carl Vinson (CVN 70). Most recently, he served as Executive Officer of the USS Bainbridge (DDG 96).
His decorations and awards include the Meritorious Service Medal (two awards), Navy Commendation Medal (six awards), Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal (three awards), and various unit awards and citations. He received the Career Achievement in Government Award at the 36lll Black Engineer of the Year Awards STEM Conference in February 2022.
The ship is named after Rear Admiral Herald Stout, who served the Navy valiantly during World War II in the Pacific, earning 2 Navy crosses and a Silver Star Medal.
Stout set a record during its 2020 deployment by going 215 days at sea without pulling into a port, demonstrating the ship and its crew's outstanding resiliency. Following deployment, the ship entered an extended maintenance phase and was set back out to sea in June of 2023.
-CNSL-
| Date Taken: | 07.21.2023 |
| Date Posted: | 07.21.2023 16:02 |
| Story ID: | 449781 |
| Location: | NORFOLK, VIRGINIA, US |
| Web Views: | 529 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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