Change of Command

Just as things were beginning to wind down in the training process at the supply base, we started to ramp up again for the upcoming Change of Command Ceremony. The current Captain was being assigned to a different command and we were assigned a new Commanding Officer. I am choosing not to use the names of other Officers, although if you want to know the names of senior Officers you could probably look them up online.

The old Captain was a great leader and fairly young compared to most Officers of his rank. He connected well with all the Officers on base and was actually stronger and faster than many of the younger Officers. I saw him as an excellent role model for us as we were preparing for our first billets. I felt comfortable asking him any questions and appreciated the advice he gave me.

Certain members of my class volunteered for various duties during the ceremony itself. Those duties included being escorts for VIPs, bell ringer, flag bearer, national anthem singer...etc. The rest of us were responsible for maintaining our formation during the presentation. At first this did not seem to be much of a problem but the weather would prove to be a fierce adversary.

We had a mock ceremony the day before and realized how much effort it was going to take to perform this perfectly. During the middle of the summer in Athens, GA, the temperature climbs well into the 90s a few hours after the sun comes up and then starts to get humid on top of that. We were required to stand at attention or parade rest for the entire length of the ceremony in our summer white uniforms.

The guests present included prominent members of the community, a 4 Star Admiral, Chief of the Supply Corps, past Commanding Officers of the base, and various Officers and family members. It was definitely an intimidating atmosphere for a young Ensign. The importance of this event was highlighted by the fact that this would be the last Change of Command Ceremony to occur in Athens. The new Captain will be the first Commanding Officer at the new supply school when it moves to Newport, RI.

I was proud to be a part of this event, equally so that it went so well. To be perfectly honest, by the time it was over I was making a bee line for the water bottles lined up by the side. One Marine and two Officers fell out of formation during the ceremony and these were the same individuals who had just completed OCS or marine boot camp. I would have been among them had I been forced to stand out in the sun for much longer. This is not something I will be forgetting anytime soon!