The following is the text of a news release from the U.S. Coast Guard:
(OAK ISLAND, N.C.) — Coast Guard members held a commissioning ceremony Tuesday, which officially established Aids to Navigation Team Oak Island at Station Oak Island.
Rear Adm. Stephen P. Metruck, 5th District commander, officially designated Petty Officer 1st Class Ryan R. Yoraschek as officer in charge of the new ANT Oak Island unit during the ceremony.
ANT Oak Island’s primary responsibilities include the maintenance of 513 navigational aids positioned along the Intracoastal Waterway from the southernmost border of North Carolina to the southern portion of Bogue Sound, including the Cape Fear River.
ANT Oak Island is responsible for 193 lighted structures, 267 day beacons, 52 range structures and one lighthouse. These aids to navigation assist mariners in the navigation of their vessels and warn of hazards.
A commissioning ceremony is a time-honored tradition in which a unit is officially dedicated and placed into the service of the United States of America and the U.S. Coast Guard. The ceremony is purposely conducted before the assembled officers and crew of the command and involves the reading of official orders. This serves as notice to the crew, the Coast Guard and the nation, conveying the legal authority to establish the unit and the assignment of the officer in charge.
Yoraschek was advanced to chief petty officer following the ceremony.
