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June 21, 2012 • TRAVELLER • 3
Marine Corps Detachment Gets New CO by Amy Perry Production/News Assistant Editor
The Fort Lee Marine Corps Detachment held a change of command ceremony Friday on the Ordnance Campus Whittington Parade Field. Marine Lt. Col. William F. Schoen, incoming commanding officer, took the reins from Marine Lt. Col. Matthew R. Seay during the event. Marine Col. Robert E. Wallace, who took the helm of the Marine Corps Training Command at Quantico in June, was the reviewing officer. The ceremony included a publication of orders, transfer of command, presentation of awards and a march in review. Wallace said he remembers when Seay first came to him in preparation for his change of command ceremony before he took command. “I was still learning Training Command, and frankly, we threw you into a sea of Army down here and our advice to you was to come down here and do good things,” Wallace said. “And you did just that. “You’ve established some tremendous relationships here,” he continued. “You (knew) you needed to establish effective relationships with your Army brethren to effectively support the Marines out here, and you did just that.” During Seay’s tenure, the detachment grew larger as SEE USMC, PAGE 24
PHOTO BY AMY PERRY
Marine Lt. Col. William F. Schoen, the incoming Fort Lee Marine Corps Detachment commanding officer, left, takes the guidon from Marine Lt. Col. Matthew R. Seay, outgoing commanding officer, as Marine Sgt. Maj. Steven L. Lunsford, the detachment sergeant major, salutes during a change of command ceremony Friday on Whittingon Parade Field on the Ordnance Campus.
16th Ordnance Battalion Welcomes New Commander by Kimberly K. Fritz Family/Community Life Reporter
The 16th Ordnance Battalion bid farewell to Lt. Col. Sean M. Herron and welcomed Lt. Col. Steven N. Carozza in a ceremony full of pomp and circumstance June 14 at Whittington Parade Field. “It was a privilege to serve as your brigade commander,” said Col. Pharisse Berry, 59th Ordnance Brigade commander. “I cannot say enough to thank you for the support and loyalty you have given me for the past two years. I admire your intelligence, your common sense approach to challenges and your devotion to your Soldiers.” Berry described Herron as his “go-to guy,” explaining that he was for some time the only battalion commander on the ground at Fort Lee during the ordnance move. “He not only had to
deal with me, but also the issues associated with the Ordnance School and Combined Arms Support Command and the Training and Doctrine Command – all while commanding the largest battalion at Fort Lee and maybe the largest in TRADOC.” Berry said the outgoing commander is a professional who is technically proficient and a strong leader who doesn’t take himself too seriously. During his remarks, Herron often used humor to impart his feelings with the crowd gathered for the ceremony. Instead of speaking of his tenure as the battalion commander, the leader paid tribute to the Army on its birthday and praised the “thinking warriors” of the battalion. “They are technicians who desperately want to be a part of the process,” he said. “They want to apply their own skills in attacking our problems.” Berry welcomed Carozza to the bat-
talion and told him he has big shoes to fill. “I am confident that you will have no problem doing that,” he said. “The Army has faith in you and so do I.” Carozza said he was humbled and honored by the opportunity to command the battalion. “The Soldiers you see standing before you right now volunteered to serve the Army during a time of transition not truly knowing what stands before them,” he said. “They are representative of everything and all that is good in the young men and women of the American people. They are truly great Americans, and I am immensely proud to lead them during their final transition into American Soldiers.” Following the symbolic passing of the unit colors, the 392nd Army Band at Fort Lee, which participated in the ceremony, led the pass in review.
PHOTO BY KIMBERLY K. FRIRZ
Lt. Col. Steven N. Carozza speaks after taking command of the 16th Ordnance Battalion June 14 at Whittington Parade Field.