When Lt. Col. Everett Sharpe turned over command of the Warrior Transition Battalion on Oct. 21, he didn't move far from his current office.
"I'll be going back out to the same unit I came from," said Sharpe, who will be the executive officer for the National Guard Community Based Warrior Transition Unit Task Force headquarters at Fort Gordon.
The South Carolina National Guardsman has spent the last two years standing up a brand new unit and working out the kinks along the way.
"Running it is one thing, but running it while building it is another," said Sharpe. "That's the hardest thing. We wanted to get it right while developing operations and procedures."
Sharpe believes he and everyone else involved from the Dwight David Eisenhower Army Medical Center command to the garrison command have worked to do it right.
"This was a huge change in the way we take care of Soldiers and their Families," he said about having a unit designated just for those undergoing treatment for injuries due to combat or training accidents.
The battalion has seen many positives as it has developed including the building of its new center near the hospital and the partnerships with many organizations and individuals in the Augusta community, he said.
Sharpe returns to the community based health care environment. Many National Guardsmen receive treatment closer to home, and his office oversees community health care based centers in the Southern region. The region boundaries changed on Oct. 1 so he's not sure how that will impact his position.
Sharpe has a commitment to the National Guard through August 2010 then he's not sure what his future holds.
Sharpe's civilian job was working with the South Carolina Forestry Commission.
The Clemson University graduate said he's been fortunate that his National Guard service has allowed him to remain close to home.
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