ATC Mobile change of command

MOBILE, Ala. – Coast Guard Aviation Training Center (ATC) Mobile will host a change of command June 30. Capt. William E. Sasser Jr. is scheduled to relieve Capt. Thomas S. MacDonald. Capt. Sasser is reporting from Alameda, Calif., where he was serving as the executive assistant to the Commander of the CG’s Pacific region. Capt. MacDonald has served as commander of ATC Mobile since the summer of 2014. He will assume the responsibilities as head of the Coast Guard Office’s Aeronautical Engineering arena in Washington, D.C. (Source: ATC Mobile media release 06/29/17) ATC Mobile acts as the CG's aviation, aviation-training, and capabilities development center, as well as an operational air station. Its Operations Department, flying the HC-144A Ocean Sentry, conducts traditional CG air station missions, including Search and Rescue missions across the Gulf of Mexico and coastlines, Homeland Security, and Environmental Protection. The OD operates under the tactical control of the Eighth Coast Guard District and has responsibility that extends from the Louisiana/Texas border to the eastern edge of the Florida panhandle.