Two years and more than a million miles after assuming command, Lt. Col. Mario Washington relinquished leadership of the Mission Support Battalion to Lt. Col. David Eckley during a ceremony July 12 in Waybur Theater.
The Mission Support Battalion is home to a fleet of more than 17 exhibit and educational vehicles and multiple fixed exhibit systems used by the U.S. Army at major conventions and events across the country to support Army marketing by connecting with America. Battalion Soldiers and civilians staged 1,165 Army events during Washington's tenure that began in July 2015. That equates to 3,484 support days or 6,968 days of temporary duty spent "Connecting America with America's Army."
U.S. Army Marketing and Engagement Brigade Commander Col. Janet Holliday presided over the change of command. The brigade commander listed more than 1.37 million miles traveled by MSB Soldiers and civilians as one of MSB's many accomplishments during Washington's tenure. The events staged and miles traveled netted more than 574,934 people who visited battalion assets to learn more about the Army.
MSB drives more miles per year than any other battalion in the Army. The battalion is part of USAMEB which is aligned under the Army Marketing and Research Group.
In his remarks to the audience, Washington thanked his staff for their support.
"For an officer, there is no greater privilege than to command," Washington said while crediting the battalion's Soldiers and civilians for the unit's accomplishments. "It was a pleasure and honor to serve with you."
A Radcliff, Kentucky, native, and University of Louisville graduate, Wash-ington moves on to attend the Dwight D. Eisenhower School for National Security and Resource Strategy at Fort McNair, Washington, D.C. When Washington welcomed Eckley to the battalion, he acknowledged the importance of the battalion's mission and its accomplishments.
"The significance of the mission you have consistently accomplished cannot be overstated," Eckley said. "You work tirelessly to ensure that the first impression is a lasting impression."
A Cottonwood, California, native and military intelligence officer, Eckley was commissioned in the regular Army from the United States Military Academy at West Point in 2000. He has served in a variety of progressive assignments. Most recently, Eckley was assigned as a military advisor within the Office of the Undersecretary of Defense for Intelligence at the Pentagon.
Eckley is a graduate of the Command and General Staff College, the Military Intelligence Captain's Career Course, the Imagery Officer Course and the Military Intelligence Officer Basic Course. He holds a master's degree in Geographic and Cartographic Science from George Mason University and is the author of "Evaluating Spatiotemporal Clustering of Traffic Accidents," published in the academic journal Computers, Environment and Urban Systems and "Describing Conflict in Central America: Criminal Insurgency," published with Small Wars Journal.
Eckley's awards include the Bronze Star Medal, the Defense Meritorious Service Medal (one oak leaf cluster), the Meritorious Service Medal and the National Intelligence Exceptional Achievement Medal.
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