CBWTU and WTB leadership furl the CBWTU's unit colors before casing them at the unit's deactivation ceremony Aug. 13, 2014, in McClellan, Calif. For nine years, the CBWTU served as leadership, medical oversight and support staff for ill, injured and ...

When the Soldiers walked onto the makeshift, grassy strip of a parade field in McClellan, Calif., they gathered together with current and past cadre members of the Community-Based Warrior Transition Unit-California to stand together one last time in formation.

The CBWTU-CA held its deactivation ceremony near its headquarters on Aug. 13, 2014, to mark the end of a 9-year mission taking care of community-based wounded, ill and injured Soldiers.

"Over the years we successfully took care of hundreds of ill, injured and wounded Soldiers, serving as their leaders, medical support, advocates, friends and support systems as they recovered and transitioned to the next phases of their lives. We were Soldiers taking care of fellow Soldiers, and we took to heart the principle of leaving no one behind," said Maj. Terry Lewis, the CBWTU-CA commander. He also called the event "a bit of a family reunion," with 30 current and former cadre members sharing in the formation.

"We had to become a work family or we simply wouldn't have succeeded," said Lewis, noting that more than 300 Guard and Reserve staff served as cadre of the CBWTU-CA since its inception, taking their turns to care for their fellow Soldiers with intensive medical and emotional needs who also happened to be spread out over four states-- California, Nevada, Oregon and Washington.

Since 2005, the CBWTU-CA managed the care of more than 1,300 Soldiers. At its peak, the CBWTU boasted 51 cadre members spanning platoon sergeants and company leadership, medical staff, logistics and administration staff.

Some of those cadre members returned for the deactivation ceremony, to include Sgt. 1st Class John Ward. A former platoon sergeant who directly took care of hundreds of Soldiers, Ward came to say farewell to what he called a good yet difficult mission. He thanked the Soldiers he led for their sacrifices, noting that for some of them, their lives were changed forever.

"It was probably the best job I ever had. It gave me a chance to relate to people with some of my own experiences and we understood each other, and there was a camaraderie," said Ward, an infantryman who deployed to Iraq and Egypt.

While Ward served in the CBWTU-CA from 2010 to 2013, the unit actually began five years prior to his time there. The CBWTU-CA traces its roots back to the Community Based Health Care Organization, which was activated in McClellan. Its mission was to allow recuperating Soldiers to live at home and to receive health care in their communities while remaining on active duty orders. In 2009, the CBCHO was renamed the CBWTU-CA, and was realigned to report to Madigan Army Medical Center's Warrior Transition Battalion at Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Wash. Throughout its existence, the CBWTU-CA focused on remotely helping Guard and Reserve Soldiers heal and transition either to their regular Army duties or to a successful life as a Veteran civilian.

With the deactivation, the care and management of the CBWTU-CA's community-based Soldiers transferred to the newly formed Community Care Unit at JBLM. The CCU resides within the footprint of the WTB, and will maintain the same mission of remotely providing leadership and medical management of community-based Soldiers, who will continue to live and heal at home.

"Obviously we're ending a chapter here, but the legacy that they have begun is going to be carried back at Joint Base Lewis-McChord… and they'll continue to do exactly what all of our folks down here have done for all of these years," said Lt. Col. Jeffery Mosso, the WTB commander, who also called the CBWTU-CA the organization that set the template for fellow CBWTUs.

"These guys here have done an amazing job to make sure we set our transitioning Soldiers up for success," he said.

As the CBWTU-CA cadre furled and cased their colors, their commander encouraged them to reflect on the outstanding care they provided for Soldiers throughout their unit's history.

"You can all look back on your time here with pride, and in fact that is how I will look back on the CBWTU and our mission," Lewis said.