SOUTHWEST ASIA—The 69th Air Defense Artillery (ADA) Brigade and the 11th ADA Brigade held a Transfer of Authority ceremony Friday during which the 11th Brigade relinquished authority for the ground-based air and missile defense mission within the CENTCOM area of responsibility to the 69th, or Lightning Brigade, here.
The indoor ceremony was attended by many senior level officers and NCO’s from throughout the joint fires community including Maj. Gen. Gary Cheek, the Deputy Commanding Officer of the Third Army/ ARCENT, and Brig. Gen. James Dickinson, the 32nd Air and Missile Defense Command general.
The Transfer of Authority (TOA) ceremony is a longstanding army tradition that signifies when a new unit takes over full responsibility for a mission. Col. Randall A. McIntire, the 69th ADA Brigade’s commander, shared his belief that the soldiers taking over were ready to ‘Guard the Skies’.
As the Brigade Colors were uncased, symbolic of the mission being shouldered by the new unit, Col. McIntire said, “We have a proud legacy of service, sacrifice, and duty. We will only add to that during this deployment.”
The ceremony concluded with the singing of the Air Defense Artillery and army song. Both were sang raucously and with enthusiasm. For the 11th ADA Brigade, they were going home after a long deployment. For the 69th ADA Brigade, new challenges faced them in their future and they stood ready to face them.
| Date Taken: | 02.01.2013 |
| Date Posted: | 02.14.2013 11:24 |
| Story ID: | 101997 |
| Location: | (UNDISCLOSED LOCATION) |
| Web Views: | 91 |
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