H&S Bn. says goodbye to Sgt. Maj. Bates, welcomes Young [Image 2 of 8]

CAMP FOSTER, OKINAWA, JAPAN

04.03.2015

Photo by Sgt. Matthew Callahan              

III Marine Expeditionary Force   

Sgt. Maj. Jerry L. Bates II, right, yields responsibility of his post as the sergeant major of Headquarters and Support Battalion, Marine Corps Installations Pacific-Marine Corps Base Camp Butler, Japan, by passing the noncommissioned officer’s sword of office to Col. Thomas A. Pecina during a post and relief ceremony April 3, on Camp Foster, Okinawa, Japan. Bates was succeeded by Sgt. Maj. Jeffrey A. Young. Post and relief of the NCO sword by the commanding officer is symbolic of the passage of leadership from one Sgt. Maj. To the other. Bates, a Mt. Zion, Ill., native, retired from the Marine Corps during the ceremony with 26 years of service to the Marine Corps. Pecina is the commanding officer of H&S Bn. (U.S Marine Corps photo by Sgt. Matthew Callahan/Released)

• Date Taken: 04.03.2015
• Date Posted: 04.08.2015 20:39
• Photo ID: 1863254
• VIRIN: 150403-M-IN448-061
• Resolution: 5546x3697
• Size: 15.72 MB
• Location: CAMP FOSTER, OKINAWA, JP
• Hometown: MOUNT ZION, IL, US