3rd mine detection squadron under new command

On Thursday, 22 September 2022, the commander of Operational Flotilla 1, Flotilla Admiral Henning Faltin (50), will hand over command of the 3rd Minesweeper Squadron from Frigate Captain Terje Schmitt-Eliassen (47) to Frigate Captain Carsten Schlüter (46) at 3 p.m. at the naval base in Kiel.

For Frigate Captain Schmitt-Eliassen, this marks the end of a commanding officer's time that was characterised above all by the coronavirus pandemic. "The men and women of the 3rd Minesweeper Squadron have shown a very high level of operational readiness over the past two years. They have consistently carried out deployments and similar obligations, completed international and their own manoeuvres with an impressive number of units and provided administrative assistance - an outstanding achievement by my soldiers." Schmitt-Eliassen is now moving to the Bundeswehr Planning Office in Berlin. Coming from the Ministry of Defence, Frigate Captain Schlüter is returning to the "Mineuren" on the Kiel Fjord, where he was already commander of the minehunting boat "Sulzbach-Rosenberg" and deputy commander. Here he will take command of the approximately 800 soldiers of the last German mine defence unit. Schlüter is very much looking forward to returning to his home town and the new challenges as commander. "It is a really special occasion for me to take over the command of the 3rd Mine Countermeasures Squadron. This is my military home and I am delighted to be back in Kiel. In addition to fulfilling our operational obligations, the continuation of our Baltic Sea cooperation is particularly important to me in the coming year."