NAPLES, Italy — Saying that the Naval Forces Europe and NATO Allied Joint Force Command turnover had a high-level, international feel could be an understatement.

A president, ambassadors, generals and admirals of many nations watched the ceremony as Adm. Harry Ulrich III took over the Naples-based commands from Adm. Michael Mullen.

Another witness to the changeover, of all people, was Ulrich’s Neapolitan mother-in-law.

The newly promoted four-star admiral on Monday kept a 30-year-old promise to his mother-in-law, Pia, to bring his wife, Mary, home to Naples by taking over the reins of the two commands and their thousands of military members from about two dozen nations.

While the change of command may have had a sense of a homecoming for Ulrich, it carried all the pomp and circumstance befitting the internationally important positions he will assume.

Naval Forces Europe’s area of responsibility covers 91 countries over 21 million square miles of land and sea in and around Europe and Africa, according to the command’s Web site.

The NATO command, on the other hand, has no specific area of responsibility. Its operating area is directed by the supreme allied commander, U.S. Marine Gen. James Jones. NATO currently runs missions in Afghanistan, Iraq, the Balkans and anti-terror patrols in the Mediterranean.

Jones said that Ulrich, while now able to meet the needs of his Neapolitan family, is also the best person for the position.

“There is no one better qualified to assume this important responsibility than he is,” he said.

Mullen, who will soon become the Navy’s chief of naval operations, also spoke highly of Ulrich.

“I know without question that he is the right man for this job,” he said during his final remarks as commander.

After assuming command, Ulrich spoke of the past successes, ongoing changes and future plans for the two commands.

“The U.S. Navy and NATO are transforming,” he said, “radically changing the way we think and the way we act.

“Naval Forces Europe and Allied Joint Force Command are leading this change.

“The men and women of these commands are spearheading … peace and stability to the south and to the east,” Ulrich said. “We cannot fail. I won’t go to sleep at night without having made the world a safer place.”

Ulrich becomes the NATO command’s 25th leader since its inception in 1951. His mother-in-law, he said during the ceremony, has been to a dozen of those command changes.

After each one, he said, she’d call him and ask him why he wasn’t at the ceremony.

“Pia,” said Ulrich, turning toward her seat, “do you see me now?”