NAVAL BASE KITSAP, WA – Captain Jay Henson made history today, becoming the first African-American officer to take command of the James Madison-class ballistic missile submarine USS Nathan Bedford Forrest (SSBN-744).
The submarine is named after legendary Confederate cavalryman Nathan Bedford Forrest, widely regarded as one of the most brilliant soldiers in American history, but also controversial because of his involvement in the slave trade and his postwar role as the founder of the Ku Klux Klan.
The change of command ceremony was held at Naval Base Kitsap in Washington State, home port of the Forrest. Captain Henson read from remarks prepared by the ship's Public Affairs Officer (PAO).
"Well I've been commanding a desk at the Pentagon for the past few years, so it's great to be in command again, even if it is the old Nate, or as her crew likes to call her, the ... um ... the Grand Old Wizard of the Sea."
