Photo By Lt. Col. William Geddes | Col. Stephen Casper, Southeast Medical Area Readiness Support Group commander, pauses...... read more read more
NASHVILLE, Tennessee – The Southeast Medical Area Readiness Support Group (SEMARSG) bid farewell to Col. Aaron Neal and welcomed Col. Stephen Casper, the incoming commander during a change of command ceremony Aug 6 at the CSM Paul B. Huff Army Reserve Center in Nashville, Tennessee.
The change of command ceremony is a tradition where the outgoing commander symbolically relinquishes command and authority by passing the division’s colors to the presiding officer, who will hand the colors to the incoming commander, thus beginning a new era of leadership for the incoming commander and the division. The passing of colors from an outgoing commander to an incoming commander ensures that the unit and its Soldiers are never without official leadership, represents a continuation of trust, and signifies an allegiance of Soldiers to their unit's commander.
Maj. Gen. W. Scott Lynn, Army Reserve Medical Command Commanding General, presided over the ceremony, accepting the Colors from Neal as he relinquished command and handing them to Casper, symbolizing the transferring of authority.
“It’s been a great honor, and I’m excited for the things that we’ve accomplished over the past few years,” said Neal of his time as SEMARSG commander. “The opportunities to get Soldiers back into training, especially as we returned from the COVID environment -- All of this synchs well with the direction the Army Reserve is going in. Maj. Gen. Lynn recently implemented a motor pool walk -- It’s where the commander gets out there and walks the motor pool and shares with the Soldiers. It’s a chance to let them know what‘s going on with the Army, but also it’s a chance for the commander to find out what is going at that level. It’s emblematic of a focus on readiness, of getting back to the basics, or focusing on Soldier training, weapons qualification, ACFT preparations, as well as making sure all of our Soldiers have their basic OCIE kit.”
Lynn thanked Neal for his performance as SEMARSG commander, and provided two "charges" to the incoming commander. The first is to always remember the three vital components of our Army Medical service; our soldier skills, our medical proficiency, and the overarching need to provide compassion to the sick, dying, and wounded on the battlefield. And the second was to always take your job and position very seriously, but yourself.....not so much.
Casper acknowledged the charges, and said, “I’m looking forward to continuing the great things that Col. Neal has been doing, and supporting the Soldiers and family members of the (SEMARSG).” Casper ADDED, “I came in during the Cold War, and so I’m used to the large scale combat-type operations (LSCO). I look forward to being able to use that experience to provide some leadership and guidance as we make the transition from counterinsurgency-focused operations (COIN) back to LSCO. I was a young enlisted Soldier out there in the field putting up that camouflage netting in the woods – we didn’t have those big command posts. I’ll help guide that process.”
Casper added his top priority is ensuring Soldiers are ready to support the Army medically if called upon. “Being ready and trained are the most important things,” Casper said. “We also need to make sure we are supporting our families and our employers, because they make a sacrifice too, in allowing us to take time away from work, and our families – we couldn’t do this without the support of our families.”
Headquartered in Nashville, the SEMARSG is responsible for providing mission command and control to Army hospital and medical units located in Florida, Georgia, New York, North Carolina, South Carolina and Tennessee.
| Date Taken: | 08.06.2023 |
| Date Posted: | 08.17.2023 11:26 |
| Story ID: | 451535 |
| Location: | NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE, US |
| Web Views: | 278 |
| Downloads: | 1 |
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