Farewell after around five years

Change of command of the F125 "Charlie" crew.

Frigate Captain Stefan Schulz

Frigate Captain Stefan Rappelt

Captain at sea Dirk Jacobus

On Thursday, 15 April 2021 at 10 a.m., the change of command of the F125 crew "Charlie" took place on the frigate "Nordrhein-Westfalen". The commander of the 4th Frigate Squadron, Kapitän zur See Dirk Jacobus (51), handed over command from Frigate Captain Stefan Schulz (50) to Frigate Captain Stefan Rappelt (42). In July 2016, Frigate Captain Schulz was the first to take command of the crew of "Charlie". "It's been four years and nine months, from the birth, to the first words, to the first steps. Unfortunately, the journey is coming to an end for me at this point, where we can talk about operational readiness," says the outgoing commander. New tasks await him as Head of Division at the Federal Office of Bundeswehr Personnel Management in Cologne. His successor, Frigate Captain Rappelt, was most recently a consultant in the Planning Department at the Naval Command. "Being given command of the crew of a frigate is one of the most responsible tasks for a naval officer and a special privilege for me personally. With the operational training just completed in March, the F125 crew 'Charlie' has successfully demonstrated its capabilities and those of the ship, and I look forward to meeting the coming challenges on the way to full operational readiness of the F125 class frigates together with the men and women of the crew 'Charlie'," said the new commander, looking forward to the task ahead of him.

Frigate North Rhine-Westphalia

Farewell greeting from the "Buster"

Photos: German Navy / PIZ Whv / Rodewald