Groton — Over the past 50 years, September has been an auspicious month for Navy innovations in warfighting.

Vice Adm. Joseph Tofalo, commander of Submarine Forces, offered some examples to support this claim:

September 1954: The USS Nautilus, the first nuclear-powered submarine, was commissioned.

September 1960: The USS Enterprise, the first nuclear-powered aircraft carrier, was launched.

September 1964: The first launch of a Polaris A3 missile from the USS Daniel Webster, one of the "41 for Freedom" ballistic missile submarines.

And September 2015: The formal opening of the Undersea Warfighting Development Center in Groton.

On Wednesday, Rear Adm. Jeffrey Trussler turned over command of the UWDC to Rear Adm. James Pitts in a ceremony topside of the Historic Ship Nautilus, one year to the day since officials marked the formal opening of the command at the Naval Submarine Base.

The UWDC was set up as part of a larger Navy reorganization. Its main goal is to develop the policies, advanced tactics and concepts of operation for undersea warfare. It also aims to standardize undersea warfare training and assess warfighting readiness.

As Tofalo put it, the UWDC is the military's undersea subject matter expert. He also pointed out that Trussler and his team had to do all these things while simultaneously creating a new organization.

"They literally were building the car as they were driving it down the highway," he said.

Trussler has spent little time in Groton over the past year as the job has required him to travel to Navy detachments all over the world.

The Tactical Analysis Group from Submarine Squadron 12, based in Groton, and detachments in San Diego and Norfolk, Va., are under the UWDC's command.

"It doesn't matter how great our technology becomes, it's still all about the people. It's all about our sailors, how well they're trained, how well they're taken care of, and when they're motivated and they're trained well, that's when we're going to perform our mission and be successful," Trussler said in a brief interview after the ceremony, explaining his observations from the past year.

This job has prepared him for his next assignment at the Pentagon as director of future plans, a new position, in which he will be "working to ensure all of the technology and the doctrine and training we're doing is what the fleet really needs," he said.

During the change of command ceremony, Trussler received the Legion of Merit, one of the U.S. military's most prestigious awards, given for exceptional performance in command and senior staff duties.

Trussler expressed his appreciation for the support of the local community and the state. He recently penned a guest commentary in The Day highlighting that support and the synergy that exists in the region with regard to undersea warfare.

Both Pitts and Trussler spent much of their remarks thanking those in the audience — family, friends, colleagues — who've supported them throughout their careers.

"Our job is to ensure the United States Navy remains the pre-eminent undersea warfighting force on the planet," Pitts said.

Pitts, who was promoted from captain to rear admiral about an hour before the change of command, most recently served as executive assistant to the deputy chief for naval operations. He served as an officer on several submarines, including as commanding officer of the USS Tucson, a Los Angeles-class attack submarine.

"Groton is the home of the submarine force, and all submariners' home at least a couple times in their career. This submariner is honored and humbled with the opportunity to come back home and rejoin the submarine community and be part of the greater southeastern community and heritage," Pitts said.

j.bergman@theday.com