Courtesy Photo | Col. David Thiele receives the 164th RTI colors from Brig Gen. William Seekins, Land...... read more read more
By 1st Sgt. Marvin Baker
DEVILS LAKE, N.D. – Col. David Thiele assumed command of the North Dakota National Guard’s 164th Regional Training Institute after a change of command ceremony Nov. 20 at the Camp Grafton Training Center near Devils Lake.
Thiele, Bismarck, who recently returned from a year-long peacekeeping mission to Kosovo, replaced outgoing commander Col. Steven Tabor, also of Bismarck.
Brig. Gen. William Seekins, the Land Component commander for the North Dakota National Guard, who presided over the ceremony, praised Tabor for his hard work and dedication.
“Steve Tabor was an exceptional commander with strong leadership skills,” said Seekins. “His tenure as commander of this unique and important unit was marked with many accomplishments.”
“Dave Thiele will also do an excellent job and is the right officer to lead RTI into the next decade,” Seekins added. “He’ll put his years of leadership and experience to work for the unit seeking to become better established with the National Guard Bureau and will work for the expansion of the RTI which will help meet the training needs of the Army National Guard.
Tabor was awarded the Meritorious Service Medal his efforts as commander. Additionally, he was presented with a ceremonial saber with the inscription, “cut above the rest” to indicate the level of work he has done for the 164th RTI.
Tabor said it is the staff and instructors’ and ability to provide the best training possible to prepare soldiers to go to war, and that in itself is a phenomenal accomplishment.
“The dedication and professionalism here is second to none,” Tabor said. “We’ve established a course for the way forward and Col. Thiele will continue to pursue this path. With his guidance and philosophy, this schoolhouse will continue to excel.”
Trained as a judge advocate, Thiele has 24 years of military service, eight of them on active duty. He is a 2008 graduate of the U.S. Army War College and is the full-time director of personnel for the North Dakota National Guard.
“Col. Tabor has done an incredible job with the 164th RTI, continuing the standard of excellence set by the Soldiers and staff of the command,” said Thiele as he addressed the soldiers of the regiment.
In his weekend duties Tabor will be reassigned to the Joint Force Headquarters’ J-1 personnel staff. He also serves full-time as the North Dakota National Guard’s Director of Facilities Engineering.
The 164th RTI provides year-round fully accredited military engineer specialty and non-commissioned officer training for Reserve Component engineers nationwide. The unit is also responsible for Officer Candidate School training primarily for North Dakota soldiers, in order to prepare soldiers to meet their wartime and peacetime missions. This past year, the 164th RTI had 158 classes scheduled training nearly 2,500 soldiers.
| Date Taken: | 11.20.2010 |
| Date Posted: | 11.22.2010 21:24 |
| Story ID: | 60685 |
| Location: | DEV, NORTH DAKOTA, US |
| Web Views: | 70 |
| Downloads: | 1 |
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