Guided-missile destroyer USS Nitze (DDG 94) welcomed a new commander during a change of command ceremony Sept. 28, while at sea in the Gulf of Aden.

Cmdr. Katie Jacobson relieved Cmdr. Sam Sareini as commanding officer during the ceremony. Nitze is deployed to the U.S. 5th Fleet area of operations to help ensure maritime security and stability in the Middle East region.

Sareini assumed command of Nitze in April 2021. During his command, the ship’s crew conducted operations including counter-piracy, maritime security, humanitarian aid, disaster relief and crisis response in support of U.S. 4th and 5th Fleet.

“There is not a better ship on this planet. The ship is its crew, and this crew has more than answered the mail,” said Sareini. “I am extremely proud to have stood shoulder-to-shoulder with them in this arena.”

Sareini will next serve aboard aircraft carrier USS Harry S .Truman (CVN 75) homeported in Norfolk, Virginia. His successor, Jacobson, assumes command of Nitze after having served as the executive officer for 20 months.

“It is the honor of a lifetime to take command of the most combat-ready destroyer in the Navy and to lead Team 94’s ‘Cold Warriors,’” Jacobson said. “I truly look forward to Nitze’s continued success on deployment and beyond.”

Nitze is an Arleigh Burke-class destroyer named for Paul Nitze who served as the Navy’s 58th secretary in the 1960s. The ship began operating in the Middle East this summer and is deployed as part of the USS George H. W. Bush carrier strike group.