The crew of Coast Guard Sector North Bend held a change-of-command ceremony in the sector’s helicopter hangar, Friday, July 20. During the traditional military ceremony, Capt. Michael Mullen transferred command to Capt. Olav Saboe as Rear Adm. David Throop, commander, Coast Guard 13th District, presided over the ceremony. Saboe recently returned from the U.S. Naval War College in Newport, Rhode Island, where he completed a yearlong program earning a Master of Arts Degree in National Security and Strategic Studies. Prior to college, Saboe was the deputy commander at Sector Humboldt Bay, located in McKinleyville, California. As the deputy, he helped oversee multi-mission Coast Guard operations from the California-Oregon border to Point Arena, California. Mullen will be retiring after 26 years of service in which he logged more than 3,000 flight hours in the MH-60 Jayhawk, MH-65 Dolphin helicopters and HC-130 Hercules fixed-wing aircraft. He also served a tour at Coast Guard Headquarters as the asset division chief for the Deputy Commandant for Mission Support. Mullen’s operational aviation assignments included tours as a student aviation engineer at Air Station Cape Cod, Massachusetts; engineering officer of Air Station Traverse City, Michigan; executive officer and assistant engineering officer at Coast Guard Air Station Kodiak, Alaska. Sector North Bend provides management and support for Coast Guard units from the Oregon-California border 220 miles north to Pacific City, Oregon. Units currently attached to the sector include the collocated air station with an air facility in Newport; six multi-mission small boat stations, two with seasonal search and rescue detachments, a 110-foot coastal patrol boat and an aids to navigation team. Collectively, these units include 445 people, five helicopters, 23 boats, and one cutter. Sector North Bend guards the Oregon coast through the aggressive and professional prosecution of all Coast Guard missions. The change-of-command ceremony is a time-honored tradition deeply rooted in Coast Guard and Naval history. The event signifies a total transfer of responsibility, authority and accountability for the command. All members of the unit attend the ceremony so they can witness the transfer of leadership.
