SECKENHEIM, GERMANY - The 1st battalion of the 405th Army Field Support Brigade hosted a change of command ceremony July 9 at Panzer Kaserne in Kaiserslautern during which Lt. Col. James Kennedy took command from Lt. Col. Ronnie Bell, Jr. The ceremony was the first change of command for the unit, which was activated two years ago.
Lt. Col. Bell credited his staff for the success in building the unit from scratch.
"I want to thank all those individuals," he said, "from the original members of the battalion to those that may have only come in the last month. Your contributions to the warfighters and to the Army are immeasurable. You have taken on every mission and exceeded every standard."
Col. Bobby Ray Pinkston, the commander of the 405th AFSB and commanding officer for the ceremony, commended Bell for his leadership.
"Lt. Col. Bell is the first commander of this battalion," Pinkston commented during his remarks. "He built this organization from the ground up, with very limited resources. In addition to standing up a new battalion and putting it on operational footing, he led the way in U.S. Army Europe in a number of missions (including retrograde and left behind equipment)."
Pinkston also welcomed Kennedy to the brigade family.
"You have a great team behind you, and I have full confidence in your abilities," Pinkston said in reference to Kennedy. "You will face many challenges here in Europe, but I know that you are up to the task. There is nowhere on earth that is a better place to be a Soldier and raise a family than here in the U.S. Army Europe."
Kennedy, who joined the brigade after completing his assignment at the Pentagon as the chief of Army pre-positioned stocks, expressed his delight in returning to Kaiserslautern.
"(My family) and I are excited about returning to Kaiserslautern and joining the Army Materiel Command team," he said. "We look forward to the privilege and opportunity of being...here supporting our Soldiers and civilians."
Kennedy's official photo and bio are available upon request.
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