Friday command at the Naval Meteorology and Oceanography Command at Stennis Space Center has changed hands.

A formal ceremony was held to commemorate the change of command from Rear Admiral Jonathan White to Rear Admiral Brian Brown.

“Good morning and welcome to the beige ceremony, where Brown and White will relieve each other,” White said.

Work conducted at the Naval facility in Hancock County brings important weather and oceanic information to all military branches working overseas and alerts people to the chaos that ensues on this planet, including the disasters caused by hurricanes and oil spills, said Rear Admiral Mark Guadagnini.

The job of NAVOCEANO is to bring information on those events together so the decision makers can create order from the chaos, Guadagnini said. Operations conducted on the open water also reduce the presence of man made chaos, including the actions of pirates. Guadagnini said today there are fewer people captured by pirates than a decade ago due to the precision weapons being delivered in a timely fashion by their unit.

Without the information gathered by NAVOCEANO the thousands of enlisted men and women would not be able to navigate and fight safely, White said. That information also allows the military to do what they do best, fight with home field advantage while abroad.

“We provide home field advantage at those away games,” White said.

Brown took time during his speech to reassure those under his command that they will stay the course White set forth and that he will always be willing to listen.

“I want to encourage all of you I’m never too old or too high of rank to continue to learn,” Brown said.

Guadagnini said the Navy is known for naming another fine leader to replace the one who moves to a new position.