PAKTIKA PROVINCE, Afghanistan " The 18th Engineer Brigade, Task Force Sword, out of Heidelberg, Germany, assumed responsibility of Afghanistan’s North Engineer Region, consisting of Regional Command-East, -Capital and -North, in a transfer of authority ceremony at Forward Operating Base Sharana June 29.
U.S. Army Col. Paul M. Paolozzi, commander of the 18th Engineer Brigade, Task Force Sword, assumed authority from U.S. Army Brig. Gen. Lester Simpson, commander of the 176th Engineer Brigade, TF Hammer, Texas Army National Guard.
Lt. Gen. David M. Rodriguez, Commander of the International Security Assistance Force Joint Command, officiated the ceremony and expressed thanks to Simpson and TF Hammer for their hard work and commitment and welcomed Paolozzi and TF Sword into the command stating they have big shoes to fill.
Not only did TF Hammer hand over authority but they also handed over responsibility of improving and expanding partnerships across the region.
“We’re eager not to just assume a mission but to make enormous strides and leaps forward with our Afghan partners,” said Paolozzi.
TF Sword will provide engineering oversight planning and conducting combat, construction and partnership engineering operations throughout the NER, which consists of the north-eastern half of the country. Key to its success will be continuing existing and creating new partnerships with Afghans to enable them to operate independently of coalition forces.
Paolozzi closed his speech with, “I’ll boldly state to our senior leaders, American and Afghan, we will meet and exceed your expectations. We are honored to be a part of Afghanistan’s success.”
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