Navy Region Hawaii has a new commander — a month and a half after he was supposed to take the job.

Rear Adm. Brian P. Fort took a temporary detour when the Navy selected him to lead the investigation into the June 17 fatal collision of the guided-missile destroyer USS Fitzgerald with the Philippine-flagged merchant vessel ACX Crystal.

Seven Fitzgerald sailors were killed in the collision with the 30,000-ton container ship 56 nautical miles southwest of Yokosuka, Japan. The dead crew members were in flooded berthing compartments.

On Wednesday, with a reading of his orders to an “all-hands call” of sailors, airmen and defense civilians at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Fort became commander of Navy Region Hawaii and Naval Surface Group Middle Pacific.

“It is a remarkable privilege to return for duty in Hawaii,” Fort, who has oversight of the joint base and the Pacific Missile Range Facility on Kauai, said in a release. As commander of Naval Surface Group Middle Pacific, he oversees the 10 surface ships home-ported in Hawaii.

A change-of-command ceremony with Rear Adm. John Fuller was canceled in late June when Fort was notified of the immediate assignment to Japan as investigating officer of the USS Fitzgerald collision. The results of the investigation have not been released.

“While I am not able to speak about the details of the investigation, I would ask you to continue to keep the Fitzgerald ohana in your thoughts and prayers for the seven shipmates we lost in the early morning hours of June 17th,” he said. “Our Navy is committed to a very thorough review, and when that process is complete and the time is right, I look forward to sharing lessons learned and leadership insights I gained from my service in the investigation.”

CNN reported in late July that the investigation’s preliminary findings suggested the collision was caused by multiple errors by the Fitzgerald’s crew. The destroyer was damaged on the forward starboard side, including flooding in two berthing spaces, a machinery space and a radio room.

Fort previously served aboard the destroyer USS Ingersoll and cruiser USS Lake Erie, both formerly home-ported in Pearl Harbor. He also served as executive officer aboard the Hawaii-based cruiser USS Port Royal.

He graduated from the University of Arkansas with a bachelor of science degree in electrical engineering, the Navy said. Following commissioning through Officer Candidate School, he completed nuclear power training.

He received a master’s degree from the Naval War College in national security and strategic studies and is also a graduate of the Joint Forces Staff College.