Groton ― A Connecticut native, Capt. Daniel Rossler, turned over command Friday after a more than four-decade career in the U.S. Navy.

Rossler, who was serving as commander of the regional support group Groton and as commanding officer of the Naval Submarine Support Facility New London, retired Friday, according to the Navy.

Rossler turned over command of the Regional Support Group Groton to Capt. David Grogan during a change of command ceremony on Friday.

“I enlisted for six years as a nuclear electrician and it’s been a long, interesting ride since that day,” Rossler said in a statement. “I never thought I’d still be in the Navy today – and honestly the whole journey has been constantly finding new and exciting paths that I had no idea existed until I stepped beyond those comfort zones and discovered those opportunities.”

Rossler’s 41 years of service includes time as a junior sailor and commissioned officer. He was born in Bridgeport, grew up Monroe, graduated from Masuk High School in 1980, and joined the Navy in 1982, according to the Navy.

Rossler was the executive officer of the Naval Submarine Base New London from June 2008 to February 2011. The base won the Commander, Navy Region Mid-Atlantic’s Installation Excellence Award in 2010 and 2011.

According to an article posted on the Naval Sea Systems Command website, in 2019 “he was awarded the “Silver Eagle” – an honor bestowed upon the senior-most (limited duty officer) in the Navy.“

The Navy said he will join the Tactical Analysis Group at the Naval Undersea Warfare Development Center.

Grogan is from Cincinnati, Ohio, and is a 1999 graduate of the University of New Orleans and 2011 graduate of the Army Command and General Staff College. Grogan’s previous sea tours include USS Indiana (SSN 789), USS City of Corpus Christi (SSN 705), USS Virginia (SSN 774), and an executive officer tour aboard USS Missouri (SSN 780), according to the Navy.

“I have long been a happy consumer of the outstanding work of this team and I look forward to continuing to provide the same level of excellent support that the Groton waterfront is used to receiving,” he said in a statement.