SOUTHWEST ASIA – The U.S. Army conducts multiple events and ceremonies that are rich and history and symbolism. One such ceremony was held in October symbolizing the transfer of authority within the CENTCOM area of responsibility between the 69th Air Defense Artillery Brigade Headquarters stationed at Fort Hood, Texas and the 31st Air Defense Artillery Brigade stationed at Fort Sill, Okla.
To signify the transfer of authority in the AOR the outgoing brigade command team from 69th ADA Brigade formally “cased” their colors until they returned to their home station whereas 31st ADA Brigade formally “uncased” their colors signifying the assumption of the Air Defense Artillery mission within the AOR.
The guest speaker for the ceremony was Maj. Gen. Dana Pittard, the deputy commanding officer for the U.S. Army Central Command. Pittard’s speech focused on the importance of teamwork in order to accomplish the mission. He praised the outgoing commander Col. Brian Gibson on an outstanding job as the commander of “Task Force Lighting” and also welcomed the incoming commander Col. Michael Morrissey and offered words of encouragement for the road ahead.
“First, we did not get to this point alone, our unit benefitted from teamwork which began a year ago as we leaned heavily on the forward deployed brigade, pulling from their experience, culminating in the incredible professionalism we received from 69th,” said Col Morrissey. “Rest assured, the 31st Brigade is committed to sustaining the momentum with a crystal clear focus on war fighting, training, equipment and soldier readiness. We understand there is no room for slack, and equally important we are committed to building our coalition partnership. A relationship built on shared purpose, respect, and pride."
Col. Gibson welcomed the command team of 31st ADA to the “greatest mission, the greatest partners and the greatest joint-service members a unit could ask for.”
The brigade headquarters is deployed as the command and control element for Patriot units operating within the area of responsibility that provide air defense of critical host nation assets.
| Date Taken: | 10.07.2013 |
| Date Posted: | 10.16.2013 04:32 |
| Story ID: | 115197 |
| Location: | (UNDISCLOSED LOCATION) |
| Web Views: | 88 |
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