CAMP ATTERBURY, Ind. -- The 205th Infantry Brigade welcomed two new Vikings into its fold during a change of command and a change of responsibility ceremony at the camp's Veterans Memorial June 27.
Col. John F. Dunleavy assumed the hammer of command for the 205th Infantry Brigade from Col. Timothy E. Newsome, who commanded the 205th since July 3, 2010. Dunleavy most recently graduated from the U.S. Army War College, in Carlisle, Pa.
The ceremony also celebrated a change of responsibility. Command Sgt. Maj. Christopher Morse took responsibility for the brigade from Sgt. Maj. Wade Wells by accepting the unique noncommissioned officers sword and then returning it to its sheath.
The reviewing officer for the ceremony, Maj. Gen. Kevin R. Wendel, commanding general of Division East, First Army, complimented the 205th on its track record.
"Because of your leadership over the past two years the Viking Team mobilized, trained, and deployed more than 23,000 Soldiers to peace keeping overseas contingency operations that included 24 Agri-business Development Teams, six Movement Control Teams, two Ordinance Companies, four Transportation Companies, three Illinois ISAF Teams, two Well-Joint Teams, two KFOR rotations, MFO rotations to the Horn of Africa and Task Force rotations, just an amazing mission portfolio when you think about the depth and breath of the kinds of missions that these great warriors have to do around the world," Wendel said of Newsome. "This team also demobilized more then 18,000 Soldiers at Camp Atterbury, a tremendous track record when you think about it."
Newsome, who will take over as director of operations for First Army Division East at Fort Meade, Md., acknowledge he couldn't have done it alone and took the opportunity to personally thank every member of this team who had a positive impact on his command.
Mindy Newsome, wife of the exiting commander, received a bouquet of red roses in full bloom to symbolize her selfless service to the command and to the community, while the in coming commander's wife, Ann Dunleavy received a bouquet of yellow rosebuds as a symbol of the blossoming relationships she will develop with the Soldiers, civilians, and their families.
Dunleavy thanked the special guests: Lt. Gen. Mick Bednarek, commander First Army, Maj. Gen. R. Martin Umbarger, the Adjutant General for the State of Indiana, Maj. Gen. Cliff Tooley, the assistant adjutant general for the state of Indiana, and Command Sgt. Maj. James Brown the command sergeant major for the state of Indiana. He also commended the 399th Army Band from Ft. Leonard Wood, Miss., for its contribution to the ceremony's rich history.
'The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing,' said Dunleavy, using a quote often attributed to Edmund Burke, a British philosopher and politician.
"You have all chosen a profession where you stand up and say, 'I will go -- choose me.' You do something and it matters. I'm honored to stand among you, and I'm excited by this opportunity to serve together," he told the brigade Soldiers.
The 205th Infantry Brigade trains and validates Army National Guard and Army Reserve Soldiers for deployment or other contingency operations and is subordinate to First Army Division East, at Fort Meade, Md. The brigade also trains units of the active Army, U.S. Navy, U.S. Air Force, U.S. Marine Corps, along with selected members of the interagency and intergovernmental departments and United States partner nations.
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