Photo By 1st Lt. James Lanza | Lt. Col. Sean Boyette receives the brigade colors during a change of command ceremony...... read more read more
ORLANDO, Fla. – Soldiers of the 164th Air Defense Artillery Brigade welcomed a new commander during a ceremony at the University of Central Florida, August 3, when Col. Grant Slayden exchanged command of the brigade with Lt. Col. Sean Boyette.
The ceremony was immediately followed by a retirement procession for Slayden, which marked the conclusion of 30 years of service highlighted by an outpouring of support from members of the community and his soldiers. As Slayden was lauded with awards and words of support, it became apparent that Slayden’s leadership set a strong precedent for Boyette to follow.
“Col. Slayden had an innovative and very tactically focused leadership style, he had an in-depth knowledge of air defense from years of studying its history,” said Lt. Col. Boyette, incoming commander. “I certainly aspire to learn and become a great air defender, just as Col. Slayden was.”
As Soldiers and distinguished guests from the community packed into a banquet hall outside Orlando to participate in the time-honored ceremony, many in the crowd were looking forward what’s next on the horizon.
“It’s exciting getting a new commander, there is so much potential and possibility for where he takes us as a unit,” said Private 1st Class Envy Lopez, a human resources specialist with 164th Headquarters and Headquarters Battery. “It seems like he really wants to take us to the field more, which gives me the chance to learn so much more about soldiering that I don’t get from my day-to-day job.”
As Lt. Col. Boyette took the reins of the brigade, he looked to emphasize training focused on fieldcraft and operating throughout austere conditions, in addition to missions designed to protect the airspace around the nation’s capital.
“Our brigade has trained for many air defense missions that are focused on non-standard missions like NCR [National Capital Region Integrated Air Defense Mission],” said Boyette. Now we’re going to shift to more combat focused missions and giving Soldiers the opportunity to be in the field to do the job they enlisted to do.”
After exchanging the brigade colors, Slayden doubled down on the achievements of the brigade, while also noting its bright future with its new leader.
“I have full faith that the brigade is in good hands with Lt. Col. Boyette, he is the right leader, with the right mindset, at the right time for the unit,” said Slayden.
| Date Taken: | 08.03.2018 |
| Date Posted: | 08.06.2018 12:49 |
| Story ID: | 287437 |
| Location: | ORLANDO, FLORIDA, US |
| Web Views: | 397 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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