Photo By Maj. Fredrick Williams | Command Sgt. Donovan Maciag, incoming senior noncommissioned officer for 1st Squadron,...... read more read more
Subscribe
The 'Quarterhorse' squadron bid farewell to Command Sgt. Maj. Patrick Frankenberg and welcomed Command Sgt. Maj. Donovan Maciag Oct. 5 on Fort Riley’s Cavalry Parade Field.
“It’s fitting we hold this ceremony on this field, on an old cavalry post, in the heart of the Midwest,” said Lt. Col. David DeFelice, 1st Squadron, 4th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Armored Brigade Combat Team,
1st Infantry Division, commander. “Looking around, you can see the reminders of the cavalry and feel the ghost of cavalrymen still on duty.”
DeFelice, a native of East Haven, Connecticut, said the squadron members, along with their brothers and sisters of generations past, have used this field to welcome new troops, promote officers and Soldiers, train and celebrate their history as cavalrymen with
their families in one of the oldest regiments in the Army.
“Today we add another celebration to that lengthy list as we bid farewell to our senior enlisted leader as his long ride ends,” DeFelice said.
Frankenberg assumed duties as the senior noncommissioned officer for 1st Sqdn., 4th Cav. Regt., Oct. 29, 2013.
“I cannot express enough my sincere gratitude to everyone within the 1st Infantry Division,” Frankenberg said. “I have asked a lot of each of
you and every time you succeeded.”
Frankenberg, a native of Las Vegas, welcomed and thanked leaders and Soldiers of the “Big Red One,” “Devil” brigade, Quarterhorse squadron and local community leaders for attending ceremony and for their support.
DeFelice said Frankenberg’s original intention was not to be a cavalryman, but a military policeman. He said fortunately for the cavalry, the height requirement for that military occupational specialty prevented him from meeting that aspiration.
DeFelice said to be an NCO at every level is difficult, to say the least, but for almost 30 years of service, Frankenberg held that responsibility in the highest regard.
“I admire sergeant major for his discipline,” said Sgt. Montie Henderson, a signal support systems specialist with 1st Sqdn. 4th Cav. Regt. “With all the changes that has occurred in the military over the last 30 years, and for him to still be here leading troops is very motivating.”
Henderson, a native of Cleveland, Ohio, thanked the sergeant major for his long and honorable service.
“I have learned how to be a good leader from his mentorship and I am very proud to have served with him,” He said.
Frankenberg will officially retire May 1, 2016, and said he, his wife, Tammy, and their children will move to Las Vegas.
Frankenberg concluded his remarks saying he was a BRO Soldier and officially relinquished his duties as the senior noncommissioned officer
for the Quarterhorse squadron to Maciag.
Prior to his appointment as the squadron’s new senior noncommissioned officer, Maciag attended the U.S. Sergeants Major Academy, located at Fort Bliss, Texas.
DeFelice welcomed Maciag and his family to Fort Riley, the Big Red One and to the “finest cavalry squadron in the Army.”
Maciag, a native of Canton, Michigan, thanked his wife and two daughters, adding the day they found out they would be part of the 1st Inf. Div. was a great day for them.
“I am happy to be a Big Red One Soldier,” he said.
| Date Taken: | 10.05.2015 |
| Date Posted: | 10.27.2015 11:58 |
| Story ID: | 180046 |
| Location: | FORT RILEY, KS, US |
| Hometown: | CANTON, MI, US |
| Hometown: | EAST HAVEN, CT, US |
| Hometown: | LAS VEGAS, NV, US |
| Web Views: | 212 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, ‘Quarterhorse’ Soldiers bid farewell to top enlisted leader, by Bernhard Lashleyleidner, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
No keywords found.
LEAVE A COMMENT