Sobeck takes command of Military Sealift Command as Wettlaufer retires

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Rear Adm. Philip Sobeck, commander, Military Sealift Command (MSC), delivers remarks aboard USS Dwight D. Eisenhower during MSC’s change of command ceremony held on board the ship, Sept. 8, 2023.

The following is an excerpt from a Department of Defense press release. The full article can be found on the Defense Visual Information Distribution Service website.

Rear Adm. Michael Wettlaufer turned over the helm as commander of Military Sealift Command to Rear Adm. Philip E. Sobeck during a change of command and retirement ceremony aboard the aircraft carrier USS Dwight D. Eisenhower (CVN 69) at Naval Station Norfolk, Sept. 8.

Hundreds of service members, family and distinguished guests attended the ceremony including; Commander, U.S. Transportation Command (USTRANSCOM) Gen. Jacqueline Van Ovost, who served as presiding officer for the change of command ceremony, and Commander, U.S. Fleet Forces Command, Adm. Daryl Caudle, who was presiding officer for the retirement ceremony.

Wettlaufer, the 28th commander of MSC, assumed the reigns in June 2019, just months before the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. During this time, he stood up a crisis action and long-range planning teams to preserve the health of the force at-sea and ashore, limiting spread of the virus and resulting in zero mission days lost.

At the President’s direction, Wettlaufer rapidly activated, deployed, kept safe and sustained USNS Comfort (T-AH 20) and USNS Mercy (T-AH 19) to deliver critical medical care to Americans in New York City and Los Angeles with much needed relief to frontline health care providers.

He also advanced MSC into the future, championing robust modeling and simulation capabilities that enabled operational level of war analysis and assessment opportunities. His revolutionary Fuel Distribution Decision Aid enabled U.S. Indo-Pacific Command warfighters and planners to visualize real-time fuel distribution network requirements, risks, and resourcing needs.

“What I learned to appreciate from the start is that MSC is an entire Navy within a Navy,” said Wettlaufer. “Operating a globally deployed fleet leveraging integration across the services and Navy fleets with our commercial shipping and repair industry plus labor partners, MSC generates combat power that is 145 government and commercially-owned and operated ships today,” said Wettlaufer. “With only 2 percent of the budget and at 2 percent of the people when compared to the Navy, this lean team also mans, trains, equips, deploys, sustains and operates nearly 20 percent of the Navy’s 290 Battle Force ships while providing global logistics support to the other 80 percent. Importantly, we continue to build new ships to join our stable.

“I am proud to have been part of this dedicated group that is relentlessly focused on our mission: providing agile logistics, strategic sealift, as well as specialized missions anywhere in the world, for the joint warfighter 24/7, 365 days a year.”

Sobeck takes command after serving as director of Strategic Plans, Policy, and Logistics at U.S. Transportation Command, Scott Air Force Base, Illinois, where he oversaw the revision of the command strategy. His previous flag assignments also include; director, 21st Century Sailor Office; commander, Expeditionary Strike Group 3/Command Task Force (CTF) 36; and commander, Logistics Group Western Pacific/CTF 73.