Official U.S. Navy website - Commander Naval Surface Force, U.S. Pacific Fleet

SAN DIEGO – Cmdr. William R. Grotewold relieved Cmdr. Calvin D. Slocumb as commanding officer of the San Diego-based Whidbey Island-Class dock landing ship, USS Rushmore (LSD 47), in an official change of command ceremony held at Naval Station San Diego Jan. 12. 

“The thing that I enjoyed most and the thing that I am most proud of is the fact that I had the chance to work with USS Rushmore Sailors,” Slocumb said. “I wanted to be a part of what you were doing every single day and watch you succeed.”   The crew was assembled on the pier for the ceremony with Capt. Rod Clark, Commander, Amphibious Squadron Seven, as the guest speaker.   “Throughout (Slocumb’s) tour, Rushmore was operationally focused and without fail. Rushmore exceeded all operational tasking successfully,” Clark said.

Highlights of Slocumb’s 17 months as commanding officer included the completion of the second half of the ship’s 2007 deployment to the Western Pacific and Arabian Gulf to conduct maritime support operations, a maintenance period, and participation in the Great White Fleet Centennial Celebration in Seattle. The ship also served as a test platform for developing anti-submarine warfare systems in the Nanoose range in Canada.

Grotewold reported from the U.S. Army War College in Carlisle, Pa., and Slocumb is scheduled to report to the Naval War College in Newport, R.I.