USS NIMITZ, PACIFIC OCEAN — Last Friday evening around dinner time, less than 48 hours before the USS Nimitz arrived in Sinclair Inlet, Capt. Douglas Graber spoke through the aircraft carrier’s public address system for the first time.

As the new commanding officer (CO), Capt. Graber greeted the crew and expressed his excitement at his first day leading the Nimitz. The 1975-commissioned warship conducted a change of command ceremony on June 29 in San Diego, in which Graber relieved Capt. Craig Sicola to be the new CO.

“I’ve always wanted to be part of the Nimitz, my whole career, even my whole life growing up in the 70s and 80s. I heard so much about the Nimitz and Nimitz class,” Graber told the crew. He encouraged sailors to focus on the tasks at hand and look out for each other as the sailors completed the last part of their journey — heading back to the ship’s homeport.