Photo By Chief Petty Officer Joshua Karsten | 240827-N-GR655-1194 GROTON, Conn. (August 27, 2024) – Rear Adm. Andrew Miller, left,...... read more read more
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Groton, Connecticut – The Undersea Warfighting Development Center (UWDC) held a traditional change of command ceremony Tuesday, August 27, aboard the Historic Ship Nautilus at the Submarine Force Museum in Groton, Connecticut, marking a change of the top-ranking Navy officer in an area known as the ‘Submarine Capital of the World.’
Rear Adm. Andrew Miller turned command of UWDC over to Rear Adm. Michael Van Poots during the ceremony and Vice Adm. Robert Gaucher, commander, Submarine Force/Submarine Forces Atlantic served as guest speaker and presiding officer at the event.
“Everything you achieved as commander of Undersea Warfighting Development Center was in direct support of the Submarine Force’s priorities: warfighting, people, and safety,” Gaucher said during his remarks. “Drew, Undersea Warfighting Development Center has supported our nation, our navy, and our submarine force, and I commend your commitment.”
UWDC is tasked with enhancing undersea warfighting capabilities and readiness across the theater, operational and tactical levels of war. The nearly 10-year-old Groton-based center, with detachments in sites including Norfolk and San Diego, develops doctrine for how multi-domain undersea warfare platforms integrate with each other, including the incorporation of artificial intelligence and machine learning.
Miller thanked a multitude of UWDC staff stating “every member of UWDC, down to the most junior personnel, contribute to some extraordinary important work every day.”
“It’s really about our innovative, adaptive, and responsive shipmates and teammates at UWDC, and the families and friends that support them – we couldn’t do it without you,” Miller said of his staff.
Under Miller’s guidance, UWDC oversees several groups working together to enhance submarine operations including the Artic Submarine Lab, Tactical Analysis Group and the Navy’s submarine Aggressor Squadron (AGGRON), popularly referred to as the Navy’s “Top Gun for Submariners,” referring to the fighter pilot training program made famous in a 1986 Hollywood blockbuster.
Miller, a native of Hilton Head Island, South Carolina, arrived at UWDC after serving as chief of staff, Submarine Force/Submarine Forces Atlantic. He previously served as the commander of Submarine Squadron 4 in Groton, as well as commanding officer of the Los Angeles-class fast-attack submarine USS Charlotte (SSN 766), currently homeported in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. His previous submarine tours include the USS Buffalo (SSN 715), USS Main (SSBN 741), and USS Bremerton (SSN 698).
Following his tour as commander of UWDC, Miller will go on to assume command of Submarine Group 8 in Naples, Italy, a tri-hatted job that will also have him serving as director of plans and operations for U.S Naval Forces Europe and as U.S 6th Fleet deputy commander.
“It has been an honor and a privilege to serve as UWDC’s commander and I am excited to see what the future holds for UWDC under Mike Poots’ leadership,” Miller said in closing.
Van Poots called Miller “a hard act to follow,” crediting him for building “a high-performance team that is world class.”
Van Poots, a native of Sparta, New Jersey and 1995 graduate of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, previously served as the U.S. Submarine Force deputy commander and has served aboard the submarines USS Baltimore (SSN 704) and USS Montpelier (SSN 765).
“I will do my best to maintain the legacy of success that you and previous commanders have instilled,” Van Poots said.
The UWDC mission is to lead undersea superiority, enabling decisive effects from or in the undersea domain when and where the operational commander directs.
Nautilus, the location of Tuesday’s ceremony, was the world’s first nuclear-powered submarine when it was commissioned in 1954. It was decommissioned in 1980 and was opened to the public as a museum ship in Groton in 1986.
| Date Taken: | 08.27.2024 |
| Date Posted: | 08.27.2024 15:22 |
| Story ID: | 479567 |
| Location: | GROTON, CONNECTICUT, US |
| Hometown: | HILTON HEAD ISLAND, SOUTH CAROLINA, US |
| Hometown: | SPARTA, NEW JERSEY, US |
| Web Views: | 820 |
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