OCEAN SPRINGS, Miss. -- Capt. Randy Slaff relieved Capt. Nathan Schneider as the commanding officer of Supervisor of Shipbuilding Conversion and Repair (SUPSHIP) Gulf Coast (SSGC) during a ceremony at the Ocean Springs Civic Center on Aug. 4.
“To my SUPSHIP Gulf Coast family, you’re an awesome command and it’s been a complete honor and privilege to be your CO these past four years,” Schneider said. “This command is extremely unique and there’s no shortage of challenges and interesting things that we have to work on. What’s more impressive than that is the people who make up the command and how much we do every single day.”
Schneider, a native of Rice Lake, Wisconsin, and a 1996 graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy, is retiring from the U.S. Navy after serving as SSGC commanding officer. During his tenure at SSGC, he oversaw 16 keel layings, 13 christenings, 12 commissionings and the delivery of 18 ships and craft. He was awarded the Legion of Merit during the ceremony for his professional accomplishments since assuming command.
Slaff, a native of Nashville, Tennessee, previously served at SSGC in Pascagoula, Mississippi, as the DDG 1000 Program Manager’s Representative beginning in 2010 and later as the LHA Program Manager’s Representative from 2016-2020.
“This feels like a homecoming,” Slaff said during the change of command ceremony. “I’m very excited to be back with SUPSHIP Gulf Coast. This is where I always wanted to be.”
Slaff graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy in 1999 with a degree in Naval Architecture. In 2007, he earned a Master of Science in Mechanical Engineering from the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, California, where he completed the Total Ship Systems Engineering Program.
Slaff’s previous assignments include tours as the Anti-Submarine Warfare Officer aboard USS Arleigh Burke (DDG 51), assistant operations officer for Destroyer Squadron 26, instructor at Surface Warfare Officers School, DDG 51 and DDG 1000 Production/Delivery Officer at SUPSHIP Bath, Deputy Force Engineer for Combined Joint Task Force Horn of Africa in Djibouti, Africa, and Program Executive Officer Maritime for Special Operations Forces Acquisition, Technology, & Logistics (SOF AT&L).
SSGC is an Echelon III field command of the Naval Sea Systems Command, Washington, DC. SSGC is the largest and most dispersed of the four geographically dispersed new construction field activities. SSGC was established to administer and manage shipbuilding contracts with privately owned shipyards located along the Gulf Coast from Louisiana to Alabama and San Diego, California. SSGC has engaged with these privately owned shipyards in teaming efforts to design, build, test, and deliver warships and crafts for the Navy, Army, Coast Guard, Military Sealift Command, and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.