Photo By 1st Sgt. Justin A. Naylor | Maj. Gen. Terry Ferrell, the commanding general of the 7th Infantry Division, and...... read more read more
Subscribe
JOINT BASE LEWIS-MCCHORD, Wash. – Soldiers and families with 3-2 Stryker Brigade Combat Team, “Arrowhead,” 7th Infantry Division, welcomed a new commander and command sergeant major during a ceremony at Joint Base Lewis-McChord, March 13.
Col. David Foley, the former plans officer for 7th Infantry Division, replaced the outgoing commander, Col. Hugh Bair. Command Sgt. Maj. Donald Wilson transferred responsibility as the senior enlisted Soldier for the brigade with outgoing Command Sgt. Maj. Peter Smith.
“It is a distinct privilege for me to take command today of the 3-2 Stryker Brigade Combat Team,” said Foley to the gathered Soldiers and families during the ceremony. “I am humbled in light of the outstanding leaders before me who have shaped the proud lineage and legacy of the Arrowhead Brigade. It is indeed a great honor to have the responsibility for the leading and caring of these magnificent Soldiers and their families.”
The change of command comes at a pivotal time for the brigade as it prepares for upcoming training at both Yakima Training Center and a monthlong training rotation at the National Training Center at Fort Irwin, California.
“My compliments to all Arrowhead Soldiers for the professionalism and discipline you have displayed in this formation today,” Foley said. “I will be counting on you to be combat multipliers in training and maintaining, as well as being advocates for teaming up with your fellow Soldiers to ensure high morale and an unyielding esprit de corps. I want each Arrowhead Soldier to know that I will have no problem looking you straight in your eyes when I say that I will earn your trust and confidence every day by the decisions I make and the actions I take.”
For the outgoing commander, this ceremony was a chance to look back at the accomplishments the brigade has made during his time and to thank the Soldiers who made it all possible.
Bair took command of the brigade two years ago, shortly after the unit returned from its most recent deployment to Afghanistan.
“There were some bumps and bruises along the way ... but over the year between the National Training Center and back in to (Yakima Training Center), we’ve watched this brigade blossom into one of the finest fighting forces that we have in the United States Army today and it’s because of the dedication, the leadership, the courage to take the hard mission,” said Maj. Gen. Terry Ferrell, the commander of the 7th Infantry Division. “If called today, I personally feel, if the call comes from our nation to respond today, this brigade is prepared to go.”
For Bair, the ceremony wasn’t about him, but was about the Soldiers who he commanded.
“It is the organization we are here today to recognize, not individuals,” Bair said. “Leaders are changeable; they come and they go. Their place in unit history is short. Far more important and certainly more enduring are the 4,200 Soldiers and civilians along with their families who comprise this brigade.”
“For it is the collective they who give us our identity, form our culture and shape our values,” Bair continued. “They have done it better than any organization I have been a part of.”
For Bair, his time in command was a chance to see the true capabilities and potential of a Stryker brigade combat team and the Soldiers who comprise it.
“The Soldiers who make up our formation are the life blood of the brigade and represent the agile and adaptive nature that has always separated the Stryker Soldier from all other Soldiers in the Army’s inventory,” Bair said. “They enlisted and when called upon on to do so they will fight for the same reason Soldiers before them did; for their love of country, for their love of family and in times of most peril, in times of most danger, they fight because of their love for one another.”
This brigade change of command was the most recent in a series of changes of command. Four of the five battalions who comprise the Arrowhead Brigade changed command in the last few weeks, with the last battalion scheduled to change over in the coming months.
| Date Taken: | 03.13.2015 |
| Date Posted: | 03.18.2015 20:44 |
| Story ID: | 157446 |
| Location: | JOINT BASE LEWIS-MCCHORD, WASHINGTON, US |
| Web Views: | 854 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, Arrowhead Brigade welcomes new command team, by 1SG Justin A. Naylor, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
No keywords found.
