Before departing Fort Drum for her next assignment, Lt. Col. Celia FlorCruz, outgoing commander of 3rd Battalion, 85th Mountain Infantry Regiment, Warrior Transition Battalion, reflected on the challenges and achievements during her time in command.
"It has been very enlightening to work with such a diverse group of people, and when I say diverse, I don't mean ethnic," FlorCruz said. "I mean the makeup of the specialties of cadre and civilian staff. There is a real synergy to those specialties that helped me to grow personally and professionally."
FlorCruz said she felt one of her greatest accomplishments as the 3-85th commander was developing meetings on how to deal with high-risk Soldiers. She said that every single time, the cadre and staff found a safe way of providing support to her Soldiers.
One of the greatest improvements was in realigning the entire battalion. She mentioned how at one point they had three companies, then four, then five, and eventually went back to four. This realignment made the battalion become more uniform in understanding active-duty, National Guard and Reserve Soldiers.
Some of the challenges she faced was dealing with three different commands and three different ways of doing things -- all having the Soldiers as their priority. It was her job to make sure that all the pieces worked together to reach a common goal.
FlorCruz said if she were to offer any words of wisdom for the incoming commander, it would be to value the active, Reserve and National Guard Soldiers and to ensure the best care possible for our wounded warriors.
"One of the best things for me personally was I knew this was going to be the most satisfying work, and I was able to enjoy every moment of it," she said.
Social Sharing