RAdm Labonne & RAdm Kaehler

Today, 5 June 2009, Rear Admiral Jean Pierre Labonne (French Navy) handed over the responsibility of Deputy Operation Commander of the European Union Naval Force Operation ATALANTA, the EU anti-piracy campaign in the Horn of Africa area, to Rear Admiral Thorsten Kaehler (German Navy). The handover was conducted in the Operational Headquarters in Northwood near London.

Rear Admiral Labonne has admirably faced all the challenges of the operation from the beginning in December 2008. He will now return to France and reassume command as “Amiral Commandant la Force d’Action Navale á Brest”, Commander of the French naval action forces.

Rear Admiral Kaehler, prior to his new task, was the Deputy Director of the Policy Planning and Advisory Staff in the German Ministry of Defence in Berlin for the last three years. He will remain in the EU NAVFOR post until the end of the current mandate in mid-December 2009.

RAdm Jones & RAdm Hudson in front of the EU flag

Today Rear Admiral Peter Hudson CBE assumed command of the European Union Naval Force Operation Atalanta, the EU anti-piracy-campaign in the Horn of Africa area. The hand over was conducted in the Operational Headquarters in Northwood near London.

Rear Admiral Peter Hudson took over command from Rear Admiral Philip Jones, who commanded the Operation since it began in December 2008. He also took over responsibility as Commander UK Maritime Force (COMUKMARFOR), the UK’s contingent 2 Star Maritime Component Command. Rear Admiral Jones will now take over a new post in the UK Ministry of Defence.

Rear Admiral Jones had the challenge of getting a very unique and difficult international operation running. The piracy threat is still alive and the operation is still facing many challenges, however after the first six months he can proudly look back on achieving tangible progress. “I believe we have taken counter-piracy a long way in a disproportionate period of time since December 2008”, Rear Admiral Jones said on his final day in Northwood.

Prior to his new task, as Commodore, Rear Admiral Hudson was Commander of the UK Amphibious Task Group (COMATG), during which he commanded a Maritime Coalition Task Force in the Gulf for five months and then led the Royal Navy TAURUS deployment to the Far East from his flagship HMS BULWARK.