Port Hueneme, Calif. – Unmanned Surface Vessel Division (USVDIV) One held its first change of command ceremony, March 18, at Naval Base Ventura County in Port Hueneme, California.
Cmdr. Jeremiah Daley, who served as the inaugural Commanding Officer of USVDIV One since its inception, was relieved by Cmdr. Sophia Haberman.
Daley first began building the unit in 2021 under the supervision of Surface Development Squadron One before the unit’s official commissioning in May 2022. USVDIV One was founded to spearhead unmanned surface vessel (USV) experimentation and develop the processes required for USV operations, employment, and sustainment.
During his tour, Daley led USVDIV-1 through multiple first-ever fleet exercises employing USVs. During Integrated Battle Problem (IBP) 2021 and RIMPAC 2022, USVDIV One pioneered concepts such as manned-unmanned teaming integrating USVs as extensions of manned platforms and developing concepts of operations that will transform naval warfare.
As part of IBP 23.2 from August 2023 to January 2023, Daley led Mariner, Ranger, Sea Hunter, and Seahawk on the first ever overseas USV deployment to the INDO-PACIFIC region transiting over 25,000 NM over six months. During IBP 23.2, USVDIV One integrated with the Royal Australian Navy during Autonomous Warrior, which involved more than 300 personnel including several branches of the Australian Defense Force, U.S. Marine Corps, and the Office of Naval Research.
A native of Baltimore, Maryland, and graduate of The Citadel, Daley will report to Commander, United States Pacific Fleet.
Cdre. Shea Thompson, commander of Surface Development Squadron (SURFDEVRON) One presided the change of command ceremony.
"Make no mistake there is a lot of talk and activities in the arena surrounding unmanned systems. Jerry Daley and his team proved without a doubt that these are consequential capabilities that can reduce risk to manned forces and result in cost-effective lethal fires and effects but to be effective it is not unmanned systems by themselves,” said Thompson.
Our concept development, our analysis, and our assessment in war games demonstrate that it is manned-unmanned teaming that yields the highest return on investment. Jerry Daley more than any other individual in uniform has moved the needle of progress for manned-unmanned teaming.”
Haberman, a native of Honolulu, HI, and graduate of Texas A&M University previously served alongside Daley as the executive officer of USVDIV One since September 2022.
“Unmanned systems have an enormous potential to multiply our combat power by complementing our existing fleet. The manned-unmanned teaming effort that is from Surface Development Squadron One’s Phantom Legion concept fosters our ability to gain an advantage in areas such as maritime surveillance and reconnaissance. We must develop and validate capabilities to ensure we detect our adversaries early” said Haberman during the ceremony.
USVDIV One’s mission is to test, evaluate, and operate in support of integrating medium and large unmanned surface vessels into fleet operations and provide recommendations to Navy leadership on the development of unmanned systems. USVDIV One currently operates USV prototypes Mariner, Ranger, Sea Hunter, and Seahawk.