Cmdr. Bobby Barber was relieved by Cmdr. Courtney Towles as commanding officer of the Independence-variant littoral combat ship USS Canberra, Gold crew, during a change-of-command ceremony held aboard the USS Midway Museum on May 30.
“Standing before you for the last time as your commanding officer is a distinctly profound honor I don’t take lightly,” said Barber. “These past months and years serving alongside you all have been some of the most rewarding of my entire career – and its because of you.”
During Barber’s time in command, Canberra, which is home ported in San Diego, was the first U.S. Navy ship to commission internationally where it sailed over 14,000 nautical miles to be part of the historic ceremony in Australia.
During the ceremony, Barber was awarded the Meritorious Service Medal for his superior accomplishments and will be reporting to Commander, U.S. Third Fleet as the current operations director.
