The command of USS Cheyenne (SSN 773) was passed on, Sept. 12, as Cmdr. Noel Gonzalez was relieved by Cmdr. John Stafford as commanding officer at a change of command ceremony held aboard the Los Angeles-class fast attack submarine at the submarine piers on Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam.
In command since May 11, 2012, Gonzalez led his submarine to complete a successful Western Pacific deployment, and was awarded the 2013 Battle Efficiency Award.
During the ceremony, Gonzalez was awarded the Meritorious Service Medal for his successes in command of Cheyenne from May 2012 to Aug. 2014.
As Stafford assumed command of Cheyenne, he thanked Gonzalez for the state in which Cheyenne and her crew are in.
Homeported in Pearl Harbor, USS Cheyenne is named after the city of Cheyenne, Wyoming, and it is the 62st Los Angeles-class submarine and the 23rd Improved Los Angeles-class attack submarine. The ship’s sponsor, Ann Simpson, wife of former U.S. Sen. Alan Simpson of Wyoming, christened Cheyenne on April 1, 1995. The ship since, has lived by the city’s motto, “Live the Legend.”
In 2001, Cheyenne earned the distinction of “first to strike” when she was the first ship to launch Tomahawk missiles in Operation Iraqi Freedom. Since then, the submariners aboard have modified the motto to “Ride the Legend,” representative of the warrior spirit of the crew and the pride they take in their mission and sponsor city.