NAPLES, Italy — Rear Adm. John Stufflebeem’s opening remark as commander of the 6th Fleet was simple: to clarify pronunciation of his name.

“It’s a tough one,” he said, before turning to his overall visions for the fleet.

Stufflebeem — pronounced Stuff-il-beam — had just assumed command of the Naples, Italy-based 6th Fleet during a ceremony Friday, taking over from Vice Adm. Harry Ulrich, who will become the Naval Forces Europe commander on Monday.

Stufflebeem also gains NATO hats as commander of the Joint Forces Maritime Component Command, Europe; and Joint Command, Lisbon, Portugal.

Navy fleets are commanded by vice admirals, and Stufflebeem will put on his third star at the end of the month.

Ulrich told the assembled staff that he was turning the fleet over to “the most capable hands,” then adding “or rather, the most capable feet,” referring to Stufflebeem’s past as a punter for the U.S. Naval Academy and professional Detroit Lions.

Stufflebeem’s football prowess earned him the nickname “Boomer” from his academy classmates, a nickname which is still engraved on his official nametag nearly 35 years later.

He was also a former enlisted deck seaman in the Naval Reserve before being selected to attend the Naval Academy. Since his commissioning in 1975, Stufflebeem has commanded Fighter Squadron 84, Carrier Air Wing 1 and Carrier Group 2. He also served as the military aide to the first President Bush.

Stufflebeem told the crowd that he’ll use three words — readiness, relevance and responsiveness — to guide his and the staff’s actions during his tenure as commander.

“I ask you to think about them a lot,” he told those in attendance.

Stufflebeem said that another of his main goals is to change the perception of duty in the 6th Fleet and make it “the most desirable, sought-out duty in the Navy.”

The outgoing and incoming commanders talked about the large amounts of change that the fleet’s gone through over the past few years and how it isn’t over yet. Neither gave any details.

One change that stood out, however, was the ceremony’s location. The 6th Fleet change of command is traditionally held aboard its flagship, the USS Mount Whitney, in nearby Gaeta.

“The flagship’s at sea, doing a NATO exercise,” Ulrich said during the ceremony. “We are here, here in Naples,” while a Portuguese vice admiral commanded the exercise from the Mount Whitney.

The 6th Fleet moved to Naples last year when it merged with the Naval Forces Europe staff.

The short, simple ceremony was held in an aircraft hangar at Naval Support Activity Naples. The base shares a runway with the city’s international airport.