There has been a change of command for the U.S. Navy’s Carrier Strike Group 3.
Rear Adm. Adan Cruz was relieved by Rear Adm. Todd Whalen as commander during a Thursday ceremony aboard the Nimitz-class USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN 72), the flagship of the strike group. The Lincoln is homeported at Naval Air Station North Island in Coronado.
Cruz served as commander of CSG 3 for almost a year, starting in May 2024. During his tenure, he led more than 7,000 sailors and Marines across four major commands, 12 ships and nine embarked Air Wing squadrons consisting of over 70 aircraft.
He successfully led the strike group through deployment workups and a highly successful 2024 combat deployment to the U.S. Fifth and U.S. Seventh Fleet area of operations.
“Deploying with the sailors and Marines of Carrier Strike Group 3 has been the honor of a lifetime,” Cruz said in a news release. “Their professionalism and dedication to duty resulted in an incredibly successful combat deployment. Every sailor and Marine in the strike group excelled under pressure and accomplished all missions called to do by our nation. I will miss leading the most capable carrier strike group in the Navy, but I know they will continue to excel under Rear Adm. Whalen’s leadership.”
The deployment included the first combat strikes using the F-35C Lightning II platform, assigned to the Miramar-based Marine squadron VMFA 314, against Iranian-backed Houthi weapons storage facilities in Yemen.
Command Master Chief Oniel Lewis, Carrier Strike Group (CSG) 3, presents Rear Adm. Adan Cruz with a shadowbox during the CSG 3 change of command ceremony held aboard the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln. (Photo by MCSN Nathaly Cruz/U.S. Navy)Cruz also oversaw the implementation of the first-of-kind Information Warfare Coordination Center on the USS Abraham Lincoln, linking information-related capabilities aboard the ship.
He will report to U.S. Central Command as director, Strategy, Plans and Policy for his next assignment.
Prior to taking command of CSG 3, Whalen served as the Navy’s 72nd president of the Board of Inspection and Survey.
“I am honored to relieve Rear Adm. Cruz. His steadfast leadership was critical to the Abraham Lincoln Carrier Strike Group’s success during their 2024 combat deployment,” said Whalen. “The CSG 3 team and I will continue to strive for excellence and will remain true to our motto, in mundo optimum, the best in the world.”
CSG 3’s subordinate commands include the Lincoln, Carrier Air Wing 9, the Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer Frank E. Petersen III, and ships assigned to Destroyer Squadron 21, including Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyers USS Paul Hamilton, USS O’Kane, USS Mustin, USS Pinckney, USS Stockdale, USS Spruance and USS Michael Murphy.
An integral part of the U.S. Pacific Fleet, U.S. 3rd Fleet operates naval forces in the Indo-Pacific in addition to providing relevant training across the full spectrum of military operations.
Rear Adm. Todd Whalen renders honors during the Carrier Strike Group 3 change of command ceremony aboard USS Abraham Lincoln. (Photo by MCSN Nathaly Cruz/U.S. Navy) Read More Details
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