USS S. B. Roberts Has New Commander

From USS Samuel B. Roberts

In a ceremony held on board USS Samuel B. Roberts (FFG 58), Cmdr. Michael A. Hall relieved Cmdr. Randall C. Snyder as commanding officer of the naval frigate.

Hall is a graduate of the University of South Carolina and received his commission through the NROTC.

While growing up in many places, his formative years were spent residing in Jacksonville while his father was stationed in Mayport. Hall subsequently spent some of his department head years in Mayport serving as the Chief Engineer on USS Doyle (FFG-39). This command is Hall’s second, having previously led the USS Kingfischer (MHC-56), home-ported in Ingleside, Texas.

Upon completion of his first command tour, he was selected for a Federal Executive Fellowship to the Hoover Institute on War, Peace and Revolution at Stanford University.

From there, he attended Prospective Commanding Officer School in Newport, R.I., followed by a temporary assignment to Central Command in Qatar as part of Operation Iraqi Freedom.

Hall is receiving a ship with a long and proud history. The third ship to be named in honor of Samuel Booker Roberts, a WWII Coxswain who was posthumously awarded the Navy Cross at the battle of Guadalcanal. USS Samuel B. Roberts was commissioned in 1986 and Cmdr. Hall is her 10th commanding officer.

USS Samuel B. Roberts has maintained its outstanding legacy of honorable service during Snyder’s 20 months in command. Snyder’s tour as commanding officer began with a six-month Standing Naval Force Atlantic deployment that included operations in the North Atlantic Ocean and Eastern Mediterranean Sea as well as participation in Operation Enduring Freedom. After the deployment, the ship entered a five-month extended dry-dock period and then completed a compressed 10-week Inter-deployment Training Cycle (IDTC) with all training teams onboard fully meeting their proficiency requirements.

Snyder, was recently selected for promotion to captain, and will report for duty on the OPNAV Staff in the Director, Surface Warfare Programs Office (N-76). Of his tour as the ship’s Commanding Officer, Snyder commented, “A tour in command is truly the most memorable experience you can have in the Navy. Having the good fortune to serve with such a capable, dedicated group of professionals like the officers, chief petty officers and crew of Roberts makes it even more memorable. USS Samuel B. Roberts’ motto is ‘No Higher Honor.’ It has truly been an honor to be part of great crew on a great ship.”

Roberts is now set to begin the Intermediate Phase of the IDTC, which will consist of a Group Sail that will be conducted by Comander, Destroyer Squadron Fourteen. In late September, Samuel B. Roberts will begin a Counter Drug Operations and UNITAS deployment.