82nd Civil Affairs Battalion welcomes new Commander at Fort Stewart

Photo By Sgt. Tara Cook | Lt. Col. Joseph J. Malizia, Jr. assumes command of the 82nd Civil Affairs Battalion, a tenant unit at Fort Stewart, Ga., June 19, 2014, at Cottrell Field.  

FORT STEWART, GA, UNITED STATES

06.20.2014

Story by Sgt. Tara Cook 

3rd Infantry Division

FORT STEWART, Ga. - The 82nd Civil Affairs Battalion, a tenant unit at Fort Stewart, Georgia, welcomed a new commander, Lt. Col. Joseph J. Malizia, Jr. June 19, 2014, at Cottrell Field. The 82nd CA Bn. trains, equips and rapidly deploys forces to conduct Civil Affairs operations in support of U.S. Army Africa, U.S. Army Forces Command units or Joint Task Forces to achieve the desired effects of the supported commander.

The "Victory's Forge" battalion said farewell to commander Lt. Col. Simon C. Gardner following two years of command in a traditional change of command ceremony representing the pride, discipline and teamwork of the Army and the 82nd Civil Affairs Battalion as well as the 85th Civil Affairs Brigade.

Following an invocation and honors to the nation Malizia assumed command of the battalion in the traditional passing of the colors with remarks from both the outgoing and incoming commaders to follow.

The change of command is rich with tradition, symbolism and heritage. As narrated, key to the change of command is the passing of the unit's colors. The colors represent not only the heritage and history of the unit, but also the unity an loyalty of its Soldiers. The colors are the commander's symbol of authority representing his responsibilities to the organization. The passing of the colors symbolizes the transfer of authority from Gardner to Malizia demonstrating to the Soldiers that Gardner has passed the mantle of leadership onto Malizia and with this, must also pass the loyalty of the Soldiers to the new commander.

Gardner spoke of the many people and organizations that helped to make the unit who they are today to include the 3rd Infantry Division, but one story shared the a memory of Gardner's late father who, since his jointing the Army 28 years ago, always answered the phone "Hello General." He assured that at this point 'general' status would not be met saying, "You could bet the farm," which was met by laughter from the crowd.

He closed saying, "But if a general is one that can look across the field at the finest group of Soldiers imaginable and know that he is counted as one of them, then maybe he is right and I already have stars."

For the first time addressing the battalion as the 82nd CA Bn Commander, Malizia noted that this is not a responsibility taken lightly. Malizia recalled a story from back in 2006 when he attended the Civil Affairs Qualification Course at Fort Bragg, North Carolina. He said that his class was introduced to the course with a video of Gardner and his team working in Afghanistan and it was at that point that he became completely sold on civil affairs.

"I wanted to do what Simon [Gardner] was doing; I wanted to make a difference like Simon was making," said Malizia of his realizion of his passion for civil affairs. "So, it is with great appreciation that I get to follow in the footsteps of the man who inspired me and showed me how great civil affairs can be."

• Date Taken: 06.20.2014
• Date Posted: 06.24.2014 10:15
• Story ID: 134187
• Location: FORT STEWART, GA, US