Change of commander for the F125 "Alpha" crew

From a press release of the PIZ Marine at the Rostock Naval Command:

On Tuesday, 26 September 2023 at 10 a.m., the change of command of the F125 crew "Alpha" will take place on the frigate "Sachsen-Anhalt". The commander of the 4th Frigate Squadron, Kapitän zur See Matthias Schmitt (48), will hand over command from Frigate Captain Kay Beger (47) to Frigate Captain Danilo Petzsch (45) at the Heppenser Groden naval base in Wilhelmshaven.

Frigate Captain Beger took command of the crew three years ago. He was already the first officer on board from 2015 to 2018.

The new "old man" will be Frigate Captain Petzsch. He has already gained experience on F122 class frigates, the "Rheinland-Pfalz" and the "Wilden 13", the frigate Augsburg, as well as on the staff of the 4th Frigate Squadron. "I hope that I - like many very good commanders before me - can successfully lead my crew through their operational training and the subsequent deployment," says Petzsch. He knows what he is talking about from his last assignment as a liaison officer for the operational training of ships in the UK: "I am very much looking forward to the challenging task ahead of me as a commander in a multi-crew model that was previously unknown and unfamiliar to me."

He thanked his predecessor for his excellent work and wished him all the best for the future.

Background information

The 4th Frigate Squadron commands the four Baden-Württemberg-class frigates and their eight crews. This unusual type of warship is designed for long-term stabilisation missions in crisis areas.

In practice, this means large-scale maritime surveillance, such as the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) mission off the coast of Lebanon or NATO activities in the Aegean Sea. In these and similar missions, the F125 class ships can recognise and fend off hybrid threats, secure supply routes at sea with NATO and EU allies or lead large multinational naval formations.

Thanks to the multi-crew concept, the ships can fulfil these tasks in their area of operation for up to two years without having to call at their home port. The crews generally rotate every four months in a local safe harbour.