Photo By Maj. William Duvall | U.S. Army National Guard Soldiers with the 263rd Army and Air Missile Defense Command...... read more read more
ANDERSON, S.C. - U.S. Army National Guard Soldiers with the 263rd Army and Air Missile Defense Command (AAMDC), South Carolina National Guard, assembled as U.S. Army Maj. Gen. Timothy Sheriff, 263rd AAMDC commander, addressed the unit for the last time as the commander, Oct. 23, 2021, in Anderson, South Carolina. During his address, Sheriff highlighted the historical components of the 263rd AAMDC, upcoming changes within the command structure, and his deep admiration for his time serving within the 263rd AAMDC.
The 263rd AAMDC is scheduled to conduct a change of command ceremony Nov. 6, 2021 where Sheriff will relinquish command to U.S. Army Maj. Gen. Frank Rice during a ceremony held in Anderson. During his last regular drill weekend with the 263rd AAMDC, Sheriff addressed the unit.
“This is a big deal and it is important for you to realize from a historical standpoint, where we are with the AAMDC,” stated Sheriff. “How many [AAMDC units] are there? There are only four, only four in the world. There are only four in the Army. You are part of one. You are part of the only reserve component [AAMDC].”
The 263rd AAMDC is a primary supporter of the National Capital Region Mission (NCR), and in 2009, their unit was designated as the formal Deputy Area Air Defense Commander for Air and Missile Defense (DAADC).
“When you look back at the history of where we have been, this unit was formed in late 2000 and in 2001 we mobilized a whole unit, going to Fort Bliss. [Back] then, we were only the second AAMDC,” continued Sheriff. “We were supposed to go to Korea, but there were some changes. We came back and built a validation packet and wound up in Korea anyway.”
After addressing the history of the unit, Sheriff then addressed the changes within the command structure of the unit over the next few months in regards to the upcoming change of command, change of responsibility, and general officer promotions.
“This unit is so unique. When you look around and the quality of personnel within the enlisted corps, the leadership, with U.S. Army Command Sgt. Maj. Powell taking over responsibility, U.S. Army Brig. Gen. [promotable] Rice coming in here, U.S. Army Col. Wholey’s promotion and a new chief of staff, there is a lot of turnover here,” said Sheriff.
“The unit is yours; it is not my unit; [and] it’s not General Rice’s unit. Sometimes, we have to make tough decisions; sometimes, the buck stops with the senior leadership, but it is your unit. It is what you make of it,” he added.
Sheriff then addressed the extremely high operational tempo (OPTEMPO), deploying, mobilizing, and participating in National-level exercises on a monthly basis, throughout North America and overseas, that the 263rd AAMDC participates in.
“Over the past two years, who would have believed you performed so well in an active duty EXEVAL (Vigilant Shield) where we had to field a new tactical operations center (TOC),” added Sheriff. “Who would have believed we served as a two-star headquarters in a totally nontraditional mission for COVID, and we did as well as we did in Boston and Connecticut. For COVID, we set up a headquarters in a matter of days. You can do it; we did it, and we were so proud.”
Sheriff continued to talk about how proud he is of the success of the unit. He then challenged the unit and the Soldiers within it to strive for excellence and to make themselves and the unit better.
“I challenge you with the opportunities within the 678th Air Defense Artillery (ADA) Brigade, the 2-263 ADA Battalion, the 1-178th Field Artillery Battalion, and within the 263rd AAMDC. There is a lot of flexibility within the fires structure. There are certain numbers of sergeants major, staff sergeant, master sergeant and all ranks throughout these organizations,” Sheriff continued, discussing the possibilities within the unit. “I am excited to see you get promoted, but the sky is the limit. All you have to do is go after it. Remember, you have to take ownership of your unit and I am talking about the private through the command sergeant major.”
“During the change of command ceremony, I am going to talk about how proud I am of you and what you have performed. It is not about me; it is never about me; [and] it is never about you as an individual. It is about what you put in the team,” Sheriff stated. “I probably won’t have a chance to tell you again in this format how much I love you, how much I care about you, how important you are to me, how proud I am of you, and I mean that across the board. I cannot look across this formation and see one single face in here and say you are a thorn in the side of this unit.”
Concluding the ceremony, Sheriff reflected on what he is going to miss.
“People ask me if I’m going to be all right; I am. I will miss the people; I will miss the 41 years [of service]; and I will miss you, tremendously, dearly” Sheriff stated in his closing. “But I am going to come see you from time-to-time and we will talk from time-to-time. This is what I love about this unit. If I need anything or call anyone of you, you will be there.”
The ceremony ended with the first sergeant calling the formation to attention, saluting Sheriff, and “Warriors Prevail; America’s Shield” resounded through the building one last time for Sheriff.
| Date Taken: | 10.26.2021 |
| Date Posted: | 10.26.2021 17:35 |
| Story ID: | 408039 |
| Location: | ANDERSON, SOUTH CAROLINA, US |
| Web Views: | 1,579 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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