SAN DIEGO — Cmdr. Matthew Knuth was relieved by Cmdr. Andrew Recame as commanding officer of the Independence-variant littoral combat ship USS Cincinnati during a change of command ceremony held at Naval Base San Diego on July 26.
Capt. Douglas Meagher, commodore, Littoral Combat Ship Squadron 1, was the presiding officer and guest speaker at the ceremony.
“Matt, you brought tremendous leadership, drive and motivation to the Cincinnati team and helped keep the ship and crew on a path for success for their upcoming certifications,” said Meagher. “Andrew, the job of commanding officer is the greatest job in the Navy, but it will be the first time where you rely more on the art rather than the science of leadership…Andrew, I know you are the right person to take this crew and ship into a highly compressed optimized fleet response plan culminating in a Seventh Fleet deployment.”
During the ceremony, Knuth was awarded the Meritorious Service Medal for his superior accomplishments. Knuth will be reporting to U.S. Space Command for his next tour of duty.
“To the crew, all of you are my heroes and it has been an honor and privilege to serve as Captain of such a fine crew,” said Knuth. “I look forward to hearing of the great things you do on deployment, and I will sleep well at night knowing it is you who are out there.”
Cincinnati is homeported in San Diego as a part of Littoral Combat Ship Squadron 1. Littoral combat ships are fast, optimally-manned, mission-tailored surface combatants that operate in near-shore and open-ocean environments, winning against 21st-century threats.
