More than 500 military and civilian personnel attended the change of command ceremony for Commander, Navy Installations Command (CNIC) on Friday, Oct. 24 at Admiral Leutze Park on the Washington Navy Yard.
Vice Adm. Dixon R. Smith relieved Vice Adm. William D. French as the fifth commander since the command’s inception in 2003.
The ceremony included full gun salutes, musical performances by the Navy’s Ceremonial Band, march on of the troops and parading of the colors by the Navy’s Ceremonial Guard, and an a cappella rendition of the national anthem sung by Naomi Howell, one of CNIC’s civilian employees. A special contribution to the ceremony was the participation of side boys by former submarine Sailors with whom French served during his first command, USS Spadefish.
Guest speaker for the ceremony was Chief of Naval Operations, Adm. Jonathan Greenert.
Responsible for 52,000 military and civilian personnel, 11 Regions and 69 installations worldwide, French received the Defense Distinguished Service Medal for his accomplishments including the attainment of the Homeport Ashore initiative, the development of governance and oversight for the Overseas Drinking Water program, and efforts to align CNIC to support fleet requirements.
The ceremony also recognized French’s retirement after more than three-decades of exemplary service to the Navy.
Prior to the ceremony, Smith was promoted to Vice Admiral to serve as Commander, Navy Installations Command. He is the first former installation commanding officer to lead CNIC.
A native of Connecticut, Smith was commissioned through the Naval Academy in 1983. He was designated as a surface warfare officer in 1985 and then went on to serve aboard five surface combatants and held five shore assignments. Later in Smith’s career he went on to lead shore installations as the commander for three Regions including Naval Surface Group Middle Pacific, Navy Region Hawaii, Navy Region Southwest, and most recently, Region Mid Atlantic prior to arriving in Washington, D.C.
Leading a world-class enterprise, CNIC is responsible for managing shore installation support for the Navy’s fleet, fighter and family under the Chief of Naval Operations.
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Press release, Image: US Navy