U.S. Coast Guard Air Station Traverse City welcomes new commanding officer

TRAVERSE CITY — Tuesday was the change of command at the Coast Guard Air Station Traverse City, a ceremony that happens every two years.

It was an emotional goodbye for one commanding office and the start of a new challenge for another.

“We have a short amount of time here, and really all we try to do is try to make the place a little bit better than we found it. So if some of the things that we worked on over the past two years makes this a better Air Station for our members and their families to live at, then I did my job,” said Captain Andrew Schanno, former commanding officer.

Schannohas served as commanding officer of the Traverse City Air Station since 2022 and will now report to the Navy’s Naval War College in Newport Rhode Island for a new role.

”The job itself at the Naval War College is really an amazing place at a higher level of education. I’ll be overseeing a couple courses in their international programs for naval officers, which will really give me a chance to meet some really interesting people,” said Schanno.

As excited as he is, saying goodbye was still hard as he and his family spent seven years making connections in the area.

“Just unbelievable friendship and support,” said Schanno. “In this line of work and being in the Coast Guard, we don’t ever expect to get a lot of thank you’s or to get pats on the back. In fact, most of our members spend their whole career working behind the scenes, but it’s almost impossible to do that here in Traverse City in Northern Michigan.”

Incoming Commander Ryan Hawn joins the Traverse City Air Station from Kodiak, Alaska, where he conducted search-and-rescue and drug operations in the Arctic Ocean, the Bering Sea, the Caribbean and the Pacific.

He said he’s ready for a new challenge and community here in Northern Michigan.

“For my family to be in this area that is so family- and community-focused, that’s wonderful,” said Hawn. “And I’d say professionally, I’m really excited to lead a team of men and women here who are so committed to their job, and they also really want to be here because Traverse City is the most envied Coast Guard Air Station that we have.”

Hawn said he hopes to learn as much from those he leads as he teaches them.

“I’ve never been to Traverse City before, and I think there’s a lot of things to learn from them. This team has a lot to teach me,” said Hawn.