CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas -- Corpus Christi Army Depot's outgoing commander Col. Billingsley Pogue III relinquished his leadership to Col. Allan Lanceta, who assumed his new role at a change of command ceremony July 22 at Naval Air Station Corpus Christi.
Corpus Christi's outgoing Command Sgt. Maj. Steven Odom transferred his responsibility to incoming Sgt. Maj. Louis Felicioni.
Aviation and Missile Command's Commander Maj. Gen. Doug Gabram hosted the ceremony and led the ceremonial passing of colors that represents the transfer of command authority from one commander to the next.
With a workforce of more than 3,500 Soldiers, reservists, civilians, and contractors, Corpus Christi enables Army readiness as a source of sustainment and repair for current fleet helicopters and their components, including the UH-60 Black Hawk, HH-60 Pavehawk, AH-64 Apache and CH-47 Chinook. Their various overhaul, recapitalization, crash damage repair and modernization programs deliver significant cost benefits to the Army by sustaining the fleet with in-house solutions and support.
The depot also provides similar support for all branches of service to include the Department of Homeland Security and foreign military sales.
The depot goes a step beyond equipping the Army by providing technical maintenance training for active Army, National Guard and Reserve components. It also has a deployable team of experts that assist in Army crash battle investigations anywhere in the world.
Together the strategic capabilities available at Corpus Christi create a force multiplier that enables the Army to accomplish a full range of military operations -- one capable of winning in a complex world.
Lanceta is a senior Army aviator who most recently served at Corpus Christi's higher headquarters, AMCOM. Before that, he directed the central region's Soldier for Life Program, which helps transition veterans into civilian life with meaningful employment. His new assignment at Corpus Christi is an example of the value military experience brings to civilian careers. Nearly 40 percent of the depot's workforce are veterans.
Felicioni joins Corpus Christi from Hawaii where he served as the Garrison command sergeant major since 2014.
Retirement ceremonies for Pogue and Odom followed the event where both received Legions of Merit. The retiring aviators served together in the 82nd Airborne. Odom said he has known Pogue as long as he's been in the Army -- 25 years.
In his closing remarks, Pogue thanked Odom for his honesty, patience, and loyalty throughout their careers together, and defined those values as the reason he selected Odom as sergeant major for Corpus Christi.
But Pogue thanked his family, most of all, who created a home for him throughout his 32-year Army career, and for enduring 13 moves, new schools, leaving friends and making new ones.
With everyone in the audience and on stage called to orders, Pogue's son, West Point Cadet Billingsley Pogue IV read his father's certificate of retirement and delivered one final order: "Father, you are relieved."
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