Capt. Shane Marchesi, right, listens during a ceremony where he took command of the aircraft carrier USS Dwight D. Eisenhower on March 4, 2025. (X/USS Dwight D. Eisenhower)
NAPLES, Italy — A Navy fighter pilot with more than two decades of service is the new commanding officer of the aircraft carrier USS Dwight D. Eisenhower.
Capt. Shane Marchesi took command Tuesday, Navy messages on Facebook and X the same day said. He takes over from Capt. Chris Hill, who was named interim commanding officer of the aircraft carrier USS Harry S. Truman last month.
Truman’s former commanding officer, Capt. Dave Snowden, was fired following a Feb. 12 collision between the carrier and a cargo ship near the Suez Canal.
Truman this week was in the Red Sea along with the cruiser USS Gettysburg and the destroyers USS Stout and USS Jason Dunham, USNI News reported Monday.
The Navy didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment Wednesday about Eisenhower’s change of command.
Marchesi served as executive officer of Truman from April 2021 to May 2023. His most recent role was as commanding officer of the amphibious transport dock ship USS San Antonio, a position he held until June 2024, according to his LinkedIn biography.
A 1998 graduate of the Naval Academy, he was designated a pilot in 2000. He is a former executive officer and commanding officer of Strike Fighter Squadron 87, serving in the latter role until March 2018.
He deployed in 2001 in support of the war in Afghanistan and two years later supported Operation Iraqi Freedom.
Capt. Shane Marchesi, left, shakes hands with Rear Adm. Kavon Hakimzadeh, commander of Carrier Strike Group 2, after taking command of the aircraft carrier USS Dwight D. Eisenhower on March 4, 2025. (X/USS Dwight D. Eisenhower)
Capt. Chris Hill, the former commander of the aircraft carrier USS Dwight D. Eisenhower, was named interim commanding officer of USS Harry S. Truman in February. (U.S. Navy)
On Tuesday, an Eisenhower social media post thanked Hill for his nearly two years of service at the carrier’s helm.
“Capt. Hill’s leadership fostered a strong sense of morale and unity, ensuring the IKE crew always came first,” the post stated. “His impact on this ship and its sailors will be felt long after his departure.”
Hill assumed command of Eisenhower in March 2023, according to the Navy. Months later, it was defending against attacks on shipping in the Red Sea by Iran-backed Houthi militants.
Officials aboard the carrier told Stars and Stripes last year that Eisenhower Carrier Strike Group sailors were under fire at levels not seen since World War II. The ship returned to its homeport in Norfolk, Va., in July after a nine-month deployment.
In January, the Navy announced that Eisenhower had arrived at Norfolk Naval Shipyard for a planned maintenance, including comprehensive work to the carrier’s propulsion system, combat systems and aviation support capabilities.
