Photo By Sgt. Tyler Main | Col. James W. Bierman Jr., outgoing commanding officer, 3rd Marine Regiment, passes...... read more read more
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KANEOHE BAY, Hawaii - The 3rd Marine Regiment change of command took place at Dewey Square here May 12, where Col. James W. “Chip” Bierman Jr., outgoing regimental commanding officer, relinquished command to Lt. Col. Seth Yost, executive officer and interim commanding officer.
Bierman has commanded 3rd Marines at both the battalion and regimental level. He assumed command of 1st Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment in July 2005 and relinquished that command in November of 2007 only to return again a year later as the remain behind element commander and in November 2009 became the commander of the regiment.
Having been with the unit on two separate occasions, Bierman said he has great pride to have served with 3rd Marines.
“I have a lot of pride and appreciation for the contributions that all of the Marines, sailors and families in the regiment have made,” Bierman said. “The majority of Marines and sailors in the regiment have deployed and are still deploying and doing good things. I won’t forget their dedication, courage and hard work.”
Bierman is transferring to Headquarters Marine Corps in Virginia to assume his position as the commandant of the Marine Corps’ military secretary. Yost will serve as the commander here for two months until Col. Nathan Nastase arrives to take command.
Although the Marines of 3rd Regiment will see two different commanding officers within two months, Yost said Bierman’s leadership wouldn’t be far forgotten.
“Col. Bierman has, from the beginning, set very high standards for the battalion and the regiment,” Yost said. “His leadership, loyalty and commitment to bettering the Marines is what [this regiment] will remember him by.”
To better the Marines, Bierman made sure they were prepared for all combat operations by seeking out the most difficult terrain for the regiment to train in, Yost said.
“Under his leadership, we worked to train regimental headquarters to deploy under any conditions” Yost said. “To do that, we pushed the Marines to be able to operate from the sea, and deployed them to Marine Corps Mountain Warfare Training Center in Bridgeport, Calif., up in the Sierra Nevada Mountains, which is a very difficult place to train.”
Yost said he counts it a privilege to be able to pick up the reigns, even for a short time, after an officer like Bierman and before Nastase.
“I’m both humbled and honored of being given the opportunity by Col. Bierman and Maj. Gen. Mark A. Brilakis [3rd Marine Division commanding general] to trust me to bridge the gap between these two great officers,” Yost said.
Yost wants Marines to know there will be no slack in the schedule during the change over between commanding officers.
“We have the 2nd Battalion, 3rd Marines homecoming and we’re deploying 3rd Battalion, 3rd Marines to Pohakuloa Training Area in the next two months,” he said. “We’ll be staying pretty busy.”
After those two months, Nastase will arrive from U.S. Marine Corps Forces Europe to Hawaii and assume his position as regimental commanding officer.
Yost said Nastase has prior experience with 3rd Marines, just as Bierman did.
“Before he was assigned to the European command, he was the battalion commander for 3/3,” Yost said. “I’m certain that under his leadership this regiment will continue to excel past the standard the Marine Corps has set.”
Editor’s note: 3rd Marines sergeant major, Sgt. Maj. Paul G. Mckenna’s, post and relief ceremony takes place today at 10:30 a.m. at Dewey Square. Look for coverage in next week’s Hawaii Marine.
| Date Taken: | 05.12.2011 |
| Date Posted: | 05.23.2011 15:29 |
| Story ID: | 70906 |
| Location: | KANEOHE BAY, HAWAII, US |
| Web Views: | 1,301 |
| Downloads: | 1 |
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