Photo By Sgt. Levi Schultz | Lt. Col. Ross A. Parrish, outgoing battalion commander, 3rd Battalion, 7th Marine...... read more read more
Subscribe
TWENTYNINE PALMS, Calif. - Lt. Col. Ross A. Parrish relinquished command of 3rd Battalion, 7th Marine Regiment, to Lt. Col. Andrew J. Nelson at Lance Cpl. Torrey L. Gray Field, Jan. 14, 2016.
Parrish took command of ‘The Cutting Edge’ in July 2014 and led the battalion through its deployment with Special Purpose Marine Air Ground Task Force Crisis Response Central Command 15.2 in support of Operation Inherent Resolve. Parrish described how proud he was of his Marines for their dedication during deployment.
“The highlight was seeing the Marines taking their training and putting it into action in distributed operations throughout central command,” Parrish said. “Having all Marines come back home to their families from that deployment after engagement with the enemy was the highlight of my time with the battalion.”
Parrish also spoke about the challenges and improvements undertaken by 3/7 during his time at the helm.
“With the constant turnover of manpower within the battalion, there needs to be constant education, training and lessons from deployments and combat experiences,” Parrish said. “That’s the most valuable progress I witnessed in the small-unit leaders, staff non-commissioned officers and junior officers throughout the battalion.”
Nelson, former operations officer, Tactical Training and Exercise Control Group, intends to carry on the esteemed legacy of 3/7.
“Being a new guy in such a storied battalion, I hope to carry the standard forward,” Nelson said. “This battalion was strong before I got here and it is going to be strong after I leave. I just want to instill warrior ethos, a sense of mission success and everything I can in the Marines while I’m here.”
Parrish has been selected for Top Level School, and is scheduled to attend the National War College. The school, located in Washington, is part of the National Defense University and educates future leaders of the Armed Forces, Department of State, and other civilian agencies for high-level policy, command and staff responsibilities.
“It’s hard to say you’re looking forward to leaving a command because that’s never the case,” Parrish said. “Moving forward, I would hope I would be able to help these Marines that I have been privileged to serve with and that they would feel comfortable to reach out to me as we move down the road.”
| Date Taken: | 01.19.2016 |
| Date Posted: | 01.21.2016 10:58 |
| Story ID: | 186716 |
| Location: | TWENTYNINE PALMS, CALIFORNIA, US |
| Web Views: | 620 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, 'The Cutting Edge' holds change of command, by Sgt Levi Schultz, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
No keywords found.
