On its way out of Duluth, Alder changes command
Duluth, MN – Days before the U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Alder sails out of Duluth for the last time, the vessel and its unit said goodbye to its old commander and welcomed a new one.
In a change-of-command ceremony at the Coast Guard station on Park Point, Lt. Cmdr. Joel Wright relieved Lt. Cmdr. Justin Erdman in front of family, friends and about three-dozen “Coasties.”
“You hear a lot about sea stories working in the Coast Guard,” Erdman said, retiring after 28 years and assignments across seven different vessels. “The best part of sea stories is the people you share them with.” The change-of-command ceremony is a formal event conducted throughout military branches, representative of continuity of command without interruption.
Wright will be in command Wednesday, when Alder sails out of the Great Lakes for the last time after more than 16 years stationed in Duluth. Alder is bound for a year of repair and maintenance in Baltimore followed by a new assignment in San Francisco.
Wright will then return to Duluth in command of the USCG Cutter Spar, a similar 225-foot buoy tender with ice-breaking capabilities.
Duluth News Tribune
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