FORT HUACHUCA, Arizona (August 10, 2016) - The U.S. Army Network Enterprise Technology Command held a Change of Command Ceremony in the Greely Hall Auditorium, August 10.
Maj. Gen. John B. Morrison Jr., relinquished command of NETCOM to incoming commanding general, Maj. Gen. John W. Baker. Baker is coming to Fort Huachuca from his previous position as commanding general for 7th Signal Command (Theater), Fort Gordon, Ga. Morrison commanded NETCOM since April 2014.
Officiating at the ceremony was Army Cyber Command and Second Army commanding general, Lt. Gen. Edward C. Cardon.
After the ceremonial passing of the command flag to the new commander, Cardon spoke to the crowd of more than 300 Soldiers, civilians, family and guests.
"It's an honor to recognize the Maj. Gen. John Morrison's leadership and accomplishments as NETCOM's commander and Second Army's deputy commanding general, and to thank Ann Morrison for her contributions to the Sierra Vista community," Cardon said. "It's also an opportunity and an honor to welcome Maj. Gen. John Baker and his wife Laurie to NETCOM and Second Army."
Cardon talked about several of the projects and successes of NETCOM under the leadership of Morrison, and the transformation of the command in its operations, modernization and global communications missions.
"The Fusion Center is a new capability that improves NETCOM's ability to operate and secure the network; this did not exist before," Cardon said. "It operaties and monitors the Army's network, providing command and control of operations at an unprecedented level. Starting with nothing, the Fusion Center today leverages vast amounts of available data and analytics to improve and secure network operations, to address problems and threats in real time."
Morrison's farewell was heart-felt as he thanked the NETCOM team and the local communities for the exceptional relationships he and his wife Ann built during his time as the NETCOM commanding general.
"After almost 30 years of military service, you would think that saying that old Army phrase, 'see you later,' would get easier," Morrison said. "It doesn't; not when you work with such a great team and live in such a great community. How can you say, 'see you later,' easily to people you've grown to know and treasure as friends and family? The two-and-a-half years that Ann and I have spent as part of your family has given us memories that we will always, always cherish."
Morrison thanked Cardon for his vision and allowing NETCOM to evolve over the past two years. Morrison's thanks extended to the many community and installation leaders, who have fostered a sense of service and cooperation, and supported the Soldiers and civilians of the installation.
Baker's remarks echoed many of the same sentiments as Cardon's when talking about Morrison's contribution to NETCOM and the Army.
"I want to recognize the enormous contributions of Maj. Gen. John Morrison and Ann," Baker said. "John, you're a Soldier's soldier, a teammate's teammate, and a leader's leader; and I don't know anyone who fills those roles better than you, my friend. You're exceptional in every sense of the word. To our guests: If you're wondering how John has been so successful, I can give you the answer in two words -- Ann Morrison."
Baker also wanted to ensure the members of the NETCOM team in attendance understood immediately that the mission of the command is first and foremost in his mind.
"Our priority remains denying cyberspace freedom of action to our adversaries while maintaining the same freedom of action and maneuver for ourselves," Baker said. "We are making great strides in modernizing the physical and increasingly converged infrastructure necessary to provide superior network services to the warfighter and for the next fight. But the biggest threat to the United States and our Army is a cyber-attack; thus, cyber security is an investment, it's not a cost."
Morrison will transfer to Fort Gordon, where he will become the commander of the U.S. Army Cyber Center of Excellence and Fort Gordon. He is scheduled to transition into the position September 1.
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