(WFRV) – A Northeast Wisconsin native has taken over command of Fleet Activities at a military base in Japan.

According to the U.S. Navy, a change of command ceremony was held on December 16 at Commander, Fleet Activities Okinawa (CFAO) White Beach Naval Facility as Capt. Scott Hardy passed command to Capt. Patrick Dziekan of Ellison Bay, Wisconsin.

Before Capt. Dziekan took command of CFAO he was an executive assistant and acting chief of staff to Commander, Navy Region Mid-Atlantic Rear Adm. Charles Rock. Dziekan joined the Navy in 1990, was commissioned in 1999 through the Broadened Opportunity for Officer Selection and Training Program and graduated from George Washington University with a bachelor’s in history. He also has a master’s in national security and strategic studies from the U.S. Naval War College.

WHITE BEACH, Japan (Dec. 16, 2021) Capt. Patrick Dziekan, left, relieves Capt. Scott Hardy, right, as Commander, Fleet Activities Okinawa (CFAO) commanding officer during a change of command ceremony held at CFAO White Beach Naval Facility, Okinawa, Japan Dec. 16, 2021. CFAO maintains and operates facilities to support the U.S. Navy’s naval and aviation assets in the Indo-Pacific region. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class David R. Krigbaum)

During the ceremony, Dziekan says they play a vital role in the region, “All of our installations have a dynamic mission of providing base operations support to the Forward Deployed Naval Forces of the U.S. Navy as well as the forces of the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force, and the United Nations Command-Rear. Together with our mission and community partners, we play a vital role in maintaining peace, prosperity, and
stability throughout this region, and in maintaining a free and open Indo-Pacific.”

He’s expected to be in command for the next three years at Kadena Air Base. The departing Commander, Capt. Scott Hardy will teach naval science and take command of the Cornell University Naval Reserve Officer Training Corps.

Commander Fleet Activities Okinawa, on Kadena Air Base, maintains and runs facilities to support the United States Navy’s naval and aviation assets in the Indo-Pacific region. You can learn more about the Air Base through this link.