SEAL takes command at NSTC

GREAT LAKES, Ill. - Rear Adm. Milton J. Sands III relieved Rear Adm. Mike Bernacchi as commander of the Naval Service Training Command in a change of command ceremony April 25 at Naval Station Great Lakes. Vice Adm., Robert P. Burke, Chief of Naval Personnel (CNP), served as the guest speaker. Rear Adm. Kyle Cozad, commander of the Pensacola, Fla., headquarters of the Naval Education and Training Command (NETC) officiated at the event. NETC is the parent command for Naval Service Training Command. Bernacchi was presented the Legion of Merit by Rear Adm. Cozad. The award was for exceptionally meritorious conduct for his service at NTSC that focused on essential maritime war-fighting skills. The Pleasant Ridge, Mich., native will report as Commander of Submarine Group 10 in Kings Bay, Ga. Rear Adm. Sands, a native of Farmington, Conn., comes to NSTC following assignment as the vice president of the Joint Special Operations University at U. S. Special Operations Command at MacDill Air Force Base, Fla. Sands is the first Navy SEAL to take the helm of the command responsible for 98 percent of the Navy’s accessions. (Source: Naval Service Training Command 04/29/19) NETC-Pensacola is the parent command for Naval Service Training Command.