Photo By Pachari Middleton | Lt. Col. Michelle P. Santayana, outgoing commander of the 831st Transportation...... read more read more
Manama, Bahrain – Leadership of the 831st Transportation Battalion changed hands as Lt. Col. Michele P. Santayana relinquished command to Lt. Col. Stephen M. Coley in a ceremony at Naval Support Activity, Bahrain.
The event was officiated by Col. Eric W. Anderson, commander of the 595th Transportation Surface Brigade (SDDC).
In his address to the audience, Anderson commended Santayana on her leadership and her ability to drive the necessary change to continue uninterrupted support to the U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) area of responsibility, which included leading U.S. Naval Forces Central Command’s (NAVCENT) Red Sea strategic transportation operations.
“No set of missions epitomized the creativity and flexibility needed during the past twelve months than the initiation of Operation Prosperity Guardian and Poseidon Archer—the United States-led military operation by a multinational coalition formed in December 2023 to respond to Houthi -led attacks on shipping in the Red Sea in order to restore freedom of navigation,” he said.
Santayana said during her time in command, the 831st transitioned from a mindset of peacetime to wartime footing as a result of events in the CENTCOM theater. “Our priorities changed based on the new theater priorities and our units had to anticipate support requirements better.”
Santayana admitted one of the hurdles she faced was distributed mission command, with her battalion headquartered in Bahrain, two forward detachments in Qatar and in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), and one Deployment and Distribution Support Team (DDST) positioned with the battalion headquarters. “Commanding a geographically dispersed unit with a small team operating in large scale operations in a contested environment was a big challenge.”
“The support Michelle and her team provided to NAVCENT absolutely delivered capability and capacity to meet theater and national security objectives. It took all of us pulling and rowing together---host nation support, JLENT synchronization, our 4th component carriers, and contractors at echelon to deliver requirements on time and on target,” said Anderson.
During her farewell speech, Santayana thanked the men and women of the battalion who’d provided agile deployment and distribution capabilities in support of the warfighters’ and the nation’s objectives, calling it the honor of a lifetime to command the 831st.
Coley, a native of Altoona, Pennsylvania, said he is prepared and ready for the challenge of leading the 831st Transportation Battalion. “I will continue the legacy of the ‘Tip of the Spear’ that has been the unit that delivers at the right place, at the right time, every time.”
| Date Taken: | 05.30.2024 |
| Date Posted: | 06.07.2024 10:13 |
| Story ID: | 473346 |
| Location: | MANAMA, BH |
| Hometown: | YIGO, GU |
| Web Views: | 189 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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