Photo By Sgt. Rob Cooper | Lt. Col. Kevin Extine, departing commander of the 2-150th Field Artillery Battalion,...... read more read more
by Rob Cooper
Camp Atterbury Public Affairs
CAMP ATTERBURY, Ind. — Control of the 2-150th Field Artillery Battalion, Bloomington, Ind., changed hands Aug. 25, as a new commander assumed position during a change of command ceremony here. Lt. Col. Michael E. Fleener assumed the position previously held by Lt. Col. Kevin W. Extine, who will move on to fill the role of executive officer for the 81 Troop Command's (Joint Task Force 81) in Indianapolis.
Extine has served as commander of the unit since May 2005. His previous positions with the 2-150th include executive officer and S3. Prior to working with the unit, Extine also served in various positions with the 38th Infantry Division, Indianapolis. During his time with the 2-150th, Extine said that he had four goals the unit needed to maintain and continue to improve on.
"One, be a unit of ready Soldiers, recruit, retain and train Soldiers," Extine said. "The battalion achieved this goal by assigned strength greater than 110 percent, with unit retention rate greater than 85 percent. "Two, be a unit that mobilizes with minimal cross-leveling from other units. Three, be a unit comprised of quality leaders, both (noncommissioned and commissioned) officer. And finally, be a unit that meets our pre-mobilization collective training requirements. The SECFOR (security forces) unit was trained and ready for anything that was thrown at them at the Mobilization Station and received very positive comments."
Extine said that he felt a close bond to Soldiers in the 2-150th, calling them "a very tight unit and a very close family."
"The entire time I was their commander, you could feel that and everyone understood their job and what it meant to do that job well," he said. "Recruiting efforts in the battalion were just out of this world and we had a great relationship with our recruiters. We had a lot of challenges put in front of us and we completed them without any hesitation."
The role of commander for the unit is now in the hands of Fleener, who has more than 24 years of military experience. His previous experience includes division artillery executive officer and S3, brigade fire support officer, and various battalion-wide positions. Decorations and awards include one Combat Action Badge, a Meritorious Service Medal, an Army Commendation Medal, a Joint Service Achievement Medal and two Army Achievement Medals.
Fleener said that as commander of the 800-personnel unit, he will work to further the previous successes achieved by the unit.
"I want to continue our Family Readiness Program and continue the good things they are doing," Fleener said. "I also want to move forward with battle focused, realistic training, as well as the unit transitions to new weapons systems. We need to start looking forward to see how modularity impacts how we do business and get ahead of power curve."
"I stress to my Soldiers that risk management and concerns of safety is big, as well as maintaining our strength numbers," Fleener added.
Extine said that he felt Fleener will make a great addition to the unit.
"Lt. Col. Fleener is a Commander who understands what he wants and how to help the staff get there," he said. "He's a very level-headed and calm leader who will continue to help and mentor soldiers."
"I consider it quite and honor and look forward to working with Soldiers and their families, continuing on with the great things Lt. Col. Extine has done and leaving the 2-150th better than I found it," Fleener said.
| Date Taken: | 08.31.2007 |
| Date Posted: | 08.31.2007 08:49 |
| Story ID: | 12083 |
| Location: | CAMP ATTERBURY, IN, US |
| Web Views: | 447 |
| Downloads: | 402 |
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