1st MSOB changes command

Photo By Sgt. Joshua Young | Lt. Col. Michael A. Brooks, Jr., the commanding officer of 1st Marine Special Operations Battalion, U.S. Marine Corps Forces Special Operations Command, relinquishes his command to Lt. Col. John J. Lynch during a change of command ceremony at Camp Pendleton, Calif., March 1.  

CAMP PENDLETON, CA, UNITED STATES

03.01.2013

Story by Cpl. Kyle McNally 

Marine Forces, Special Operations Command

MARINE CORPS BASE CAMP PENDLETON, Calif. - The 1st Marine Special Operations Battalion, U.S. Marine Corps Forces, Special Operations Command bid farewell to its commander as it welcomed another at a change of command ceremony at 1st MSOB’s headquarters aboard Camp Pendleton, Calif., March 1.

Lt. Col. Michael A. Brooks, who held the battalion’s top leadership position for more than three years, relinquished command to Lt. Col. John J. Lynch before a gathering of Marines, Sailors, friends and family.

“The folks in this formation right here and in Afghanistan right now are really the reason we do well or we don’t,” said Brooks. “I would have failed miserably every day if I wasn’t surrounded with such great people. Our people don’t need help to do great things. They’re hardwired to do that.”

Brooks returned from Afghanistan in October after commanding a Special Operations Task Force of Marines, Green Berets and SEALs in a battlespace covering over 100,000 miles of territory. His troops trained, mentored and fought alongside Afghan National Defense Forces in six provinces, including Badghis, which became the first province in Afghanistan to be officially transferred from coalition to Government of Afghanistan oversight.

“It’s been amazing seeing everything this battalion has done and is doing,” said Lynch, a former operations officer with the Marine Special Operations Regiment, after assuming command. “The bar is extremely high and I look forward to the challenges of continuing to take that on.”

Since its activation in October 2006, 1st MSOB has deployed numerous times in support of the Global War on Terror. It made history in 2009 when it commanded the first Marine-led SOTF in Afghanistan.

A Pennsylvania native, Brooks’ assignments range from MARSOC to Marine Corps Recruit Depot San Diego to the Pentagon. He is a distinguished graduate of The Basic School and the Command and Control Systems Course, and has completed the Weapons and Tactics Instructor Course and the Marine Corps Command and Staff College non-resident program.

Lynch, a New Orleans native, came to MARSOC in 2008 after tours at 3rd Marines, the School of Infantry and Guantanamo Bay. He is a graduate of the Command and Staff Course, the Naval War College, the Summer and Winter Mountain Leader’s Course and the Naval Parachute Course.

• Date Taken: 03.01.2013
• Date Posted: 03.11.2013 15:01
• Story ID: 103272
• Location: CAMP PENDLETON, CA, US