The incoming commander of Naval Support Activity Souda Bay, Capt. Stephen Steacy, salutes at the Aug. 1, 2024, change-of-command ceremony at the base on the Greek island of Crete. (Facebook/NSA Souda Bay)

A Navy pilot with more than 2,000 flight hours and experience managing a helicopter squadron in the Indo-Pacific assumed command Thursday of Naval Support Activity Souda Bay on the Greek Island of Crete.

Capt. Stephen Steacy relieved Capt. Odin Klug, who had led the base since July 2022, NSA Souda Bay said in a statement Thursday. Rear Adm. Brad Collins, commanding officer of Navy Region Europe, Africa, Central, presided over the change-of-command ceremony.

In taking command, Steacy acknowledged the base’s increasingly vital role in the service’s operations in the eastern Mediterranean Sea.

Small but strategically situated, NSA Souda Bay provides support for Navy operations, including port services. It is the homeport for the expeditionary sea base USS Hershel “Woody” Williams, which is assigned to U.S. Africa Command.

“Our location is key to the Navy’s ability to respond swiftly and effectively to nearby crises,” the California native and George Washington University graduate said during the ceremony.

Rear Adm. Brad Collins, left, head of Navy Region Europe, Africa, Central, shakes hands Aug. 1, 2024, with the outgoing commander of Naval Support Activity Souda Bay in Greece, Capt. Odin Klug, as new commander Capt. Stephen Steacy watches. (Facebook/NSA Souda Bay)

Steacy’s assignments include executive officer and commanding officer of Helicopter Maritime Strike Squadron 77 deployed throughout the Indo-Pacific as part of the Ronald Reagan Carrier Strike Group, according to his Navy biography.

He also was assistant navigator aboard the aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt. Most recently, he was associate director for integration in the Chief of Naval Operations assessments division, his biography states.

Klug was praised for his leadership during the ongoing mission against the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria and the fight against attacks on commercial shipping by Houthi rebels in Yemen.

Also, several joint task forces were stood up during his Souda Bay tenure in response to the Israel-Hamas war, according to the statement.

Klug was recognized for strengthening ties between the U.S. and Greece. Several months before his arrival, the two countries inked a defense cooperation deal that gives American forces greater access to Greek bases.

Klug’s next assignment is at Navy Installations Command headquarters in Washington. 

A change-of-command ceremony was held Aug. 1, 2024, at Naval Support Activity Souda Bay, Greece, where Capt. Stephen Steacy relieved Capt. Odin Klug, who had led the base since July 2022. (Facebook/NSA Souda Bay)