FORT RILEY, Kan. -- As the clouds rolled in and the rain poured the morning of July 13, Soldiers, civilians and family members prepared to bid farewell to Fort Riley's outgoing garrison commander, Col. Andrew Cole Jr., and his wife, Charlotte, during a change of command ceremony at Riley's Conference Center. Col. John Lawrence, the incoming garrison commander, was also welcomed by the Fort Riley community.
Prior to the change of command, a small awards ceremony recognized the Cole family and their contributions to the Fort Riley community. Charlotte received the Helping Hand award from Maj. Gen. Wayne W. Grigsby Jr., Fort Riley and 1st Infantry Division commanding general. Andrew received the Legion of Merit award as well as the Saint Barbara's medal presented by Col. Thomas Bolen, commander of the 1st Infantry Division Artillery.
With thunder booming outdoors, the ceremony began.
"The time truly has flown over the last three years," Andrew said. "The garrison has been through some challenging times throughout my tenure. This workforce has weathered a reduction in force as well as seen no relief in their support mission as they enable combat readiness for the 1st Infantry Division. Nonetheless, our workforce has continued to strive for and achieved excellence."
Joe Capps, Installation Management Command Central Region director, acknowledged some of Andrew's accomplishments during his time in command in his remarks.
"I could talk for hours about Andrew, but I know that he is the kind of leader that his accomplishments were the accomplishments of a team, and it was a privilege to lead that team," Capps said. "Andrew had to work within the direction and guidance provided by the senior mission commander while balancing the realities of a resource constrained environment."
In 2015, Fort Riley was recognized by IMCOM for the culture of safety that Andrew garnered while in command. This year, Fort Riley was named the best installation in the Department of Defense. Mission readiness of the Soldiers at Fort Riley improved during his leadership as well as many other accomplishments across the installation.
Capps said these accomplishments set Andrew apart as a garrison commander.
"His three years of command have been marked by transformation, innovation, and challenges due to military and civilian drawdowns and physical constraints," Capps said. "Throughout this demanding time, Col. Cole led through collaboration and strategic planning and partnerships that included the 1st Infantry Division, the civilian workforce, state and local leaders and Kansas congressional members."
But he was not just successful because of the garrison team. Grigsby honored a very important and special part of Andrew's team -- Charlotte.
"Her contributions to this community will last for years to come," Grigsby said. "Through her tireless dedication to the families and spouses, she helped grow the resiliency of our Fort Riley families … Charlotte's impact doesn't stop at Fort Riley though."
Charlotte was a board member of the Combined Scholarship Fund and served on the development board for Kansas State University's McCain Auditorium. Part of her role in the community as a senior spouse was to help mentor and guide other senior spouses on the installation. She participated in numerous events including holiday decorating contests and hail and farewell events.
"Andrew and I are so blessed -- we've known that since the day we arrived here," Charlotte said before the change of command ceremony. "It has been an absolute honor to serve with each of you … I will take every moment of the last three years and cherish it."
Grigsby said that under Andrew's leadership with Charlotte's support, Fort Riley has been the example for the entire Army and the DOD.
"In order to be a great leader in the United State Army, you've got to be a good person first, and I would tell you that Andrew Cole is a good person," Grigsby said following the change of command ceremony. "He set the example here for three years, and he really made Fort Riley and the 1st Infantry Division the best place to train, live, deploy from and come home to."
Andrew will assume his role as chief of staff at the Maneuver Command Center of Excellence in Fort Benning, Georgia, at the end of July.
He left the crowd with words of encouragement about the community surrounding Fort Riley, which he said neither he nor Charlotte will ever forget.
"The reason Fort Riley truly is the best place to live, train, deploy from and come home to is because of the support provided to us by our community," Andrew said. "Many of you are in the audience today, and I want to say thanks to you -- your enduring and unwavering support is indispensable to making Fort Riley and the 1st Infantry Division what it is today. I will always measure a community's support by what I have seen and lived here."
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