Coronado, Calif. -Commander Naval Air Forces will welcome a new commander during a change of command ceremony aboard USS Nimitz at Naval Air Station North Island, Thursday, Oct. 4.  Vice Adm. David H. Buss will relieve Vice Adm. Allen G. Myers, who will be assigned as the next Deputy Chief of Naval Operations, Integration of Capabilities and Resources (N8), at the Pentagon in Washington, D.C.

NOISE ALERT:  As is customary for many formal Navy ceremonies, a saluting battery aboard Nimitz will fire a gun salute to honor high-ranking guests. Although no rounds are actually shot out of the cannons, the cannons still emit a powerful sound.

To prepare for the Oct. 4 ceremony, Nimitz will rehearse the salute firing on Wednesday, Oct. 3, between 10 and 11 a.m. The change of command ceremony will be Thursday, Oct. 4, at 10 a.m. Residents and workers near Naval Air Station North Island and across San Diego Bay in Downtown San Diego will probably hear the gun salute.

Two F-18 Hornet fighter jets will also fly over the San Diego Bay from south to north over the ship during the ceremony, Oct. 4 at 10 a.m.

The military custom of firing gun salutes dates back hundreds of years, and by the mid-1700s the British Royal Navy was firing cannon salutes for various ceremonies and important historical anniversary dates.