One command was disestablished and another born during a ceremony in The Commons ballroom of NAVSTA Everett Feb. 1.

Naval Surface Group Pacific Northwest lost its admiral and traded in its name to become Regional Support Organization Pacific Northwest (RSO). The command will still serve the Pacific Northwest’s smaller ships despite the name change and most of the ships and Sailors it supports will hardly notice the transition, said Capt. Scott Mobley, the new commanding officer of RSO.

“Today marks nearly 20 years in an era where Pacific Northwest has acted as intermediate commander, mentor and watchdog for those surface warriors who have had the fortunate experience of being stationed in the Pacific Northwest,” said Rear Adm. Len Hering, commander, Navy Region Northwest, during his parting remarks before turning over command of RSO. “But today also marks the beginning of a new era of a better-aligned organization that will adequately take those warriors to new heights facing new challenges.”

The organization provides technical and administrative support for the surface ships home ported in Pacific Northwest area including the destroyers USS Momsen (DDG 92) and USS Shoup (DDG 86), the frigates USS Ford (FFG 54), USS Rodney M. Davis (FFG 60) and USS Ingraham (FFG 61) and the fast combat support ship USS Camden (AOE 2), based in Naval Station Bremerton.

“In an ever changing world, folks, we’ve got to be prepared to adapt to the changes,” said Hering. “In ourselves and in our organization.”

RSO’s new commanding officer said that despite the new name and leadership, the organization would continue to bring attention to important Navy-wide issues

“One of the things we’re working on is a method to use for assigning logistic ships to different stations that will support different fleets,” said Mobley.

The transition to RSO is part of a larger, Navy-wide process to optimize fleet support as part of the Navy’s Fleet Readiness Plan, which emphasized flexibility and rapid response to national tasking.