USS Shoup Holds Change of Command

From Petty Officer Second Class Marisol Bennett, USS Shoup (DDG 86) Public Affairs Assistant

SAN DIEGO, Ca. – The Arleigh Burke-class destroyer USS Shoup (DDG 86) held a change of command ceremony, Nov. 23.

In the ceremony, CDR Dale R. Tourtelotte relieved CDR Victor J. Boza, as USS Shoup’s Commanding Officer (CO).

“Team SHOUP, it’s been amazing working with you the last 21 months. There’s no crew I’d rather be with on this journey, taking this ship over the horizon and into a new Fleet and a new homeport. I’m truly excited for the opportunity and privilege to sail and fight with you.”

After serving as the ship’s Executive Officer, CDR Tourtelotte assumed command as CO and led the crew of Shoup during a homeport shift from San Diego, Ca. to Yokosuka, Japan.

Boza’s next assignment is USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN 72).

His previous sea-duty assignments include USS Vicksburg (CG 69); USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN 72); USS Carney (DDG 64); USS Harry S Truman (CVN 75).

His assignments ashore include Instructor duty at Naval Nuclear Power Training Command and Surface Warfare Officer’s School as the International Training Director and Academic Director for Fleet Training.

Tourtelotte is a native of Orange, Texas.

His previous sea-duty assignments include USS Forrest Sherman (DDG 98); USS Sterett (DDG 104); USS Independence (LCS 2); USS Gabrielle Giffords (LCS 10). He served as CO of USS Hurricane (PC 3) homeported in Manama, Bahrain.

Ashore, CDR Tourtelotte was a student at the Naval Postgraduate School earning a Master of Science degree in Modeling Virtual Environments and Simulation.

LCDR Timothy Winters, a native of Fairfield Maine, assumed duties as Shoup’s new Executive Officer upon arrival in her new homeport of Yokosuka, Japan. His previous assignments include U.S. States Seventh Fleet Staff (N-31) embarked in USS Blue Ridge (LCC 19), USS Vicksburg (CG 69), USS Fitzgerald (DDG 62), USS Wayne E. Meyer (DDG 108), USS Guardian (MCM-5), and USS Saipan (LHA-2).

Ashore he served on the SECNAV’s Staff, Surface Warfare Officer’s School (N-72), and was a student at the Naval Postgraduate School earning a Master of Business in Financial Management.

“The Officers and Crew of Shoup are excited to be in Japan; for many this is their first time out of the United States. They have worked hard through the ship’s two year modernization and follow-on training to get to this point. They are ready to deploy today — at the peak of warfighting readiness, and could plug into any assigned mission in a matter of hours.”

USS Shoup is at Commander Fleet Activities Yokosuka in Japan for a Homeport Shift.

Arleigh-Burke Destroyers, such as USS Shoup, project power and maintain presence by serving as the cornerstone of the Destroyer Squadron and Carrier Strike Group.

USS Shoup has supported major humanitarian-assistance and combat operations in which the United States has been involved.

USS Shoup is named for Medal of Honor recipient General David M. Shoup, the 22nd Commandant of the Marine Corps.

The ship’s motto is “Victoria per Perseverantiam Venit” or “Through Perseverance Comes Victory.”

Four Marines were awarded Medals of Honor for their heroism at Tarawa. Colonel David Shoup was the only one of them to survive to wear it.