Change of command in the 4th frigate squadron

KptzS Dirk Jacobus, Photo: Holger Schlüter

Flotilla Admiral Axel Schulz will hand over command of the 4th Frigate Squadron from Captain Dirk Jacobus to the new commander of the squadron, Captain Matthias Schmitt, on Thursday, 19 January. The handover ceremony will take place on the frigate "Sachsen-Anhalt" at the Heppenser Groden naval base in Wilhelmshaven. Captain Jacobus was in command of the 4th frigate squadron for five and a half years. The special thing about his time in command was that he took all four F125 class frigates, the "Baden-Württemberg" class, into service and also decommissioned the last three F122 class frigates - the frigate "Lübeck" only in December of last year, the last of its class. No other commander in Flotilla 2 has experienced this before him. The next assignment for Captain Jacobus will be at the naval command in Rostock.

KptzS Dirk Jacobus, Photo: Holger Schlüter

His successor, Kapitän zur See Matthias Schmitt, is no stranger to the 4th Frigate Squadron. He describes the squadron as his "home squadron". He was already first officer on the frigate "Niedersachsen" and commanded the "Lübeck" for two years from 2015. "It is a great honour and pleasure for me to take over the 4th Frigate Squadron," says Captain Schmitt, who is looking forward to his new assignment. His main focus over the next few months will be to build on the successful work of his predecessor in order to drive forward the operational capability of the ships and crews. Representatives of the federal states of North Rhine-Westphalia and Rhineland-Palatinate, which are also the sponsor states of two F125 class frigates, are expected to attend the handover of command.