By Sgt. Adam Garlington
24th Press Camp Headquarters
FORT BLISS, Texas – The 402nd Field Artillery Brigade bid farewell to Col. Carolyn S. Birchfield and welcomed incoming commander Col. James J. Gallivan during a change-of-command ceremony at Noel Field here Wednesday.
“Today, we bid farewell to one of our division’s most dedicated leaders,” said Maj. Gen. Warren E. Phipps Jr., the Division West commanding general. “Carolyn’s philosophy has always been to make a difference in her life and the lives of her soldiers. She has been committed to that personal philosophy at the end of each day. Soldiers need only one thing to succeed, opportunity. Carolyn you have definitely given your Soldiers here the opportunity to succeed.”
The 402nd received two Army Supply Excellence Awards, including first place for the Department of the Army during fiscal-year 2013, under Birchfield’s command. The “Rough Riders” also won the inaugural Longhorn Award, which is given to the Division West brigade that shows the greatest improvement in readiness between the first two quarters of the fiscal-year.
“I thank you for all that you have done for your Soldiers and the Soldiers you’ve trained,” Phipps said of Birchfield. “You’ve been a tremendous commander, and you will be truly missed here at Fort Bliss.”
Birchfield, is leaving the 402nd to serve as the director of operations for the Joint Functional Component Command for Integrated Missile Defense, U. S. Strategic Command, at Schriever Air Force Base, Colorado. She thanked everyone in attendance, told her Soldiers they made the last two years the most rewarding years of her career, and shared a message with her replacement.
“Jay, you’re the right leader at the right time to take this formation,” she said. “I envy you as you look across the formation, and I hope your time with them is as personally rewarding as mine has been.”
Gallivan, who was the 1st Armored Division’s chief of staff with U.S. Central Command (Forward) Jordan before assuming command, thanked everyone in attendance and concluded the event by telling his new Soldiers how thrilled he is to serve them and their families.
“This privilege isn’t something we take for granted,” he said. “I can think of no more important or exciting time in our history to serve in this brigade and the Division West team.”
The 402nd Field Artillery Brigade is a training organization that helps provide combat ready forces for deployment to any theater of operation by supporting Reserve component units with mobilizing, training, deploying and demobilizing in accordance with Division West and higher command directives. The Rough Riders also execute training events for active Army, joint and combined forces, and validate Reserve component Deployment Expeditionary Force units.