TOKYO — Rear Adm. Dan Cloyd took command of U.S. Naval Forces Japan from Rear Adm. Rick Wren during a change-of-command ceremony Friday at Yokosuka Naval Base.

Cloyd, who became the 31st commander of CNFJ, most recently served as the commander of Task Force 70/ Carrier Strike Group 5, embarked aboard the aircraft carrier USS George Washington, according to a Navy news release.

Wren will retire from the Navy and settle in Colorado with his wife, Diane, according to the release. During the ceremony, Wren praised sailors for their response and relief efforts as part of Operation Tomodachi following the March 11 earthquake and tsunami that devastated northeastern Japan.

“You’ve built this organization into what it is today and then you were absolutely magnificent when called upon after 3/11,” Wren was quoted in the release.

U.S. Seventh Fleet commander Vice Adm. Scott Van Buskirk presided over the ceremony and commended Wren for his leadership, telling him: “Our Navy, our fleet, our alliance with Japan, our men and women in uniform and their families, and our national security are all better because of your service,” he said, according to the release.

Cloyd, a graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy, has commanded two fighter squadrons as well as the fast combat support ship USS Sacramento and the aircraft carrier USS Dwight D. Eisenhower.

From staff reports

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