Change of command aboard destroyer Mitscher - Navy News | News from Afghanistan & Iraq - Navy Times

Change of command aboard destroyer Mitscher

NORFOLK, Va. — The guided-missile destroyer USS Mitscher has a new commanding officer.

Cmdr. Monika Washington Stoker relieved Cmdr. Brian Sorenson as the Norfolk-based ship’s commanding officer on Friday.

Stoker, a Naval Academy graduate, is originally from Greensboro, N.C. She previously served as future operations officer at Navy Expeditionary Combat Command, where she was responsible for global force management in support of the fight against terrorism.

During Sorenson’s two-year tenure as commanding officer, the ship had its maiden deployment with the George H.W. Bush Carrier Strike Group. The ship conducted maritime security, counter-piracy and counter-terrorism operations.

Sorenson is originally from Columbia Falls, Mont. He also is a graduate of the Naval Academy.