PICATINNY ARSENAL, N.J. - The Picatinny Arsenal Garrison guidon passed through the hands of Command Sgt. Maj. Rosalba Dumont-Carrion to the outgoing garrison commander, Lt. Col. Jason Mackay, and eventually into the hands of the incoming commander, Lt. Col. Ingrid Parker, during a change of command ceremony June 20.
"I'm privileged to be here on this outstanding installation that has such a long and very proud tradition of supporting the defense of our great nation," said Davis D. Tindoll, Jr., Atlantic Region Director for the Installation Management Command.
Tindoll, who traveled from Fort Sam Houston, Texas, toured the garrison facilities here and later hosted the ceremony at which he was the go-between as the guidon passed from Mackay to Parker, then back into the hands of the garrison's command sergeant major.
Tindoll has 34 installations under his purview, from Fort Drum, N.Y., down to Fort Buchanan, Puerto Rico.
"The Army does not train its officers to be garrison commanders but it does develop leaders, leaders who are capable, motivated and dedicated to handle the job as a garrison commander. Lt. Col. Jason Mackay is one of those leaders," Tindoll said.
STRENGTH FROM FAMILIES
"Soldiering is a family affair," said Picatinny Arsenal Senior Commander Brig. Gen. John McGuiness as he thanked Mackay and his wife, Jennifer, and their daughters, Emma and Hannah.
Tindoll echoed McGuiness' remarks about the Mackay family. "The Mackay command team has done their part in making Picatinny Arsenal a model installation. Jason, I extend to you and your family my personal thanks, and for what you have done making this installation a great home for our service members."
An installation's garrison is comparable to a small town, and the commander serves in the capacity of a town's mayor. When something goes awry, the commander is responsible for developing a solution.
McGuiness told the ceremony's attendees that, during his first full week on the job as senior commander, the installation experienced Super Storm Sandy, which inflicted several millions of dollars of damage to the Arsenal and closed the installation for nearly a week.
In the aftermath of the storm, McGuiness relied on Mackay and the garrison staff to get the installation operating again.
"It was a great introduction for me to get to work with Jay and the team," McGuiness said.
McGuiness told guests that no matter what issue the garrison was trying to overcome, whether it had been a loss of services or reduction in services due to funding or manpower, "Jay always had your best interests at heart."
Mackay talked about the trials and tribulations that he experienced as garrison commander, including the storm but also a reduced budget, sequestration and a government furlough.
"We came out of all these things stronger and smarter," Mackay said. "It's who we are. Team Picatinny."
After Mackay thanked virtually every organization and community partner, he turned and looked at Parker, the incoming commander. With tears, he said, "Ingrid, I leave you with a highly seasoned and trained garrison that does whatever it takes."
HISTORIC PAIRING
With Parker now at the helm alongside Dumont-Carrion, the pairing marks the first time in the history of Picatinny Arsenal that the garrison command team is represented by two female Soldiers.
Dumont-Carrion was the first female command sergeant major on the installation when she arrived September 2012.
Parker comes to Picatinny by way of Fort George G. Meade, Md., where at the National Security Agency she served as the enterprise geospatial product trainer and the counter-terrorism senior operations leader.
She is a native of Chambersburg, Pa., and graduated from Shippensburg University. She was commissioned as a military intelligence officer into the U.S. Army from the Reserve Officer Training Corps in 1994.
Parker completed a Masters of Business Administration from the University of Phoenix in 2006 and a Master of Military Art and Science Degree from the Army Command General Staff College in 2007. She is working toward a PhD from the University of Maryland.
Mackay's tenure had a number of notable achievements:
- Critical improvements to community morale and welfare by providing funding for a replacement basketball court, Frog Falls pool renovation, removal of trailers and renovation of campground area.
- Picatinny Arsenal has one of the lowest crime rates on any Army installation, according to the U.S. Army's Provost Marshal General.
- As the garrison recovered from Super Storm Sandy, it assisted the local and extended community with 37 mutual-aid calls in a seven-day period for fire protection and hazardous material assistance. That included pumper support to Robert Wood Hospital in New Brunswick, N.J., that restored water pressure when municipal water failed.
- The installation won a 2013 Secretary of the Army Energy and Water Management Award, and placed second in the 2013 Federal Energy Management Program Better Building Competition for improvements to Building 65.
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