Vice Admiral Kari Takanen handed over his task as Commander of the Finnish Navy to Rear Admiral Veijo Taipalus in Heikkilä Garrison, Turku, on 29 December 2015. Vice Admiral Takanen will take over the post of Chief of Staff of the Defence Command from 1 January 2016. He has served as Navy Commander since 1 November 2013.
Rear Admiral Veijo Taipalus will become Navy Commander on 1 January 2016. Before this he served as Rector of the National Defence University. His previous tasks include Chief of Staff of the Navy Command, Commandant of the Naval Academy, Director of the Postgraduate Degree Division of the National Defence University and Chief of Staff of the Archipelago Sea Naval Command. He was promoted to rear admiral in 2014.
The change of command ceremony took place in the form of a parade in Heikkilä Garrison. Parade units from all Navy units participated in the parade. A traditional handover reception was held after the parade in Turku Castle.
