Tillamook County Pioneer

The news and people of Tillamook County, Oregon. Every day.

Menu
  • Home
  • Breaking News
  • Feature
    • Arts
    • Astrology
    • Business
    • Community
    • Employment
    • Event Stories
    • From the Pioneer
    • Government
    • Letters to the Editor
    • Non Profit News
    • Obituary
    • Public Safety
  • Weather
  • Guest Column
    • Perspectives
    • Don Backman Photos
    • Ardent Gourmet
    • Kitchen Maven
    • I’ve been thinking
    • Jim Heffernan
    • The Littoral Life
    • Neal Lemery
    • View From Here
    • Virginia Carrell Prowell
    • Words of Wisdom
  • Calendar
  • Things to do
    • Tillamook County Parks
    • Tillamook County Hikes
    • Whale Watching
    • Tillamook County Library
  • About
    • Contribute
    • Advertising
    • Subscribe
  • Search...
Menu

Astoria-based Coast Guard Cutter Fir gets new commanding officer

Posted on July 15, 2017April 3, 2020 by Editor

ASTORIA, Ore. — Lt. Cmdr. Jason Haag assumed the duties and responsibilities as commanding officer of Coast Guard Cutter Fir relieving Cmdr. Kristen Serumgard, during a ceremony at the Fir’s mooring at Base Tongue Point in Astoria, Friday.
Haag, a native of Elmira, Oregon, and a 2002 graduate of the Coast Guard Academy is reporting from Coast Guard Headquarters in Washington, D.C. where he was the financial manager in the Office of Resources, Organizational Analysis, and Workforce Management.
Serumgard was awarded the Meritorious Service Medal during the ceremony ending her stint as the sixth commanding officer of the Fir and first woman to command a cutter in Astoria. She will be transferring to New London, Conn., to take command of the International Ice Patrol.

Under Serumgard’s command, from July 2014 through July 2017, the crew of the Fir serviced aids to navigation buoys that marked safe channels for vessels to transit assisting 44 million tons of foreign trade worth $24 billion to enter and exit ports within the Pacific Northwest. The crew under Serumgard’s direction initiated an extensive analysis of the machinery space fire doctrine that resulted in revisions of service-wide policy, increasing safety for the entire 225-foot Juniper Class seagoing buoy tenders.
The primary mission of the Fir’s crew is to service aids to navigation along the coasts of Oregon and Washington, but its other missions include fisheries law enforcement, and search and rescue. The cutter is also outfitted with a Spilled Oil Recovery System to respond in the event of an oil spill. Seven officers and 41 enlisted members are billeted aboard the cutter.
The change-of-command ceremony is a time-honored tradition which formally restates to the officers and crew of the command the continuity of the authority vested in the commanding officer. This unique military ritual represents a total transfer of responsibility, authority, and accountability from one leader to the next.

Featured Video

Tillamook Weather

Tides

Archives

Recent Posts

  • CONSEJO HISPANO & OREGON HEALTH AUTHORITY COMMUNITY RESOURCE FAIR & VACCINE CLINIC - FOOD, MUSIC, MORE WED. MARCH 22, TILLAMOOK

    March 20, 2023
  • NEWS UPDATE FROM STATE REPRESENTATIVE DAVID GOMBERG: Bills on the Move

    March 20, 2023
  • NEWS UPDATE FROM SENATOR SUZANNE WEBER: Rural Northwest Oregon Capitol Updates Vol 14

    March 20, 2023
EULA
editor (@) tillamookcountypioneer.net
MAILING ADDRESS:
Tillamook County Pioneer
PO Box 1086,
Tillamook, OR 97141
Tillamook County Pioneer © 2023