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JOINT BASE SAN ANTONIO-FORT SAM HOUSTON, Texas (June 21, 2021) -- Members of the 923rd Contracting Battalion and Mission and Installation Contracting Command at Fort Riley, Kansas, welcomed a new commander during a change-of-command ceremony June 17.
Lt. Col. Randy Garcia assumed command of the battalion from Lt. Col. Robert Bartruff in a ceremony officiated by Col. Joel Greer, the 418th Contracting Support Brigade commander, from Fort Hood, Texas.
Greer acknowledged the significant amount of hard work that Bartruff, the battalion and contracting office put for in support of readiness efforts for the 1st Infantry division while also taking time to recognize Tony Tiroch and the rear detachment commander, Maj. David Hildebrand, for their leadership over the past eight months that Bartruff had been deployed.
Garcia comes to the 923rd CBN from the Medical Center of Excellence at Joint Base San Antonio-Fort Sam Houston, where he served as the executive officer for the commanding general.
“The Army’s foundation lies in its people. Every day you answer the nation’s call regardless of its sacrifice. I want to thank Army senior leadership for this opportunity to command this formation,” Garcia said. “It’s an honor and a privilege I do not take lightly.”
Garcia, a native of Lorain, Ohio, enlisted in the Army in October 1998. Following receipt of an Army Green to Gold scholarship, he was commissioned in the Army Medical Service Corps through the ROTC at the University of Tampa, where he received a Bachelor of Arts in Foreign Languages. He also holds a Master of Arts in Management and Leadership from Webster University and is recognized by the International Society of Logistics as a Demonstrated Master Logistician. His professional military education includes Advanced Operations and Warfighting Course and Army Medical Department Procurement Officer Intern Program. Garcia is Defense Acquisition Workforce Improvement Act Level III certified in contracting and Level II in program management.
Garcia has served in a number of assignments of increasing responsibility. His acquisition assignments have included chief of contracting for the Europe Regional Contracting Office, executive officer to the head of the contracting activity for the Office of the Surgeon General, chief of contracting for the Regional Health Contracting Office-Pacific and deputy chief for the Fielded Force Integration Directorate. He has also completed operational assignments in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom.
Bartruff, who commanded the 923rd CBN since July 2018 and just recently returned from a deployment in support of Operation Inherent Resolve, departs Fort Riley to attend the Army War College at Carlisle Barracks, Pennsylvania.
“Today is bittersweet as I must say farewell to one of the most dynamic organizations that I have served with in my career – an organization saturated with professional civilian and military talent that continues to meet the demands of our mission partners and higher headquarters,” Bartruff said. “You have performed admirably for the past three years. I and all leaders are keenly aware our accomplishments we receive is not of our own doing, it is of those within the organization that achieve its goal.”
The tradition of changes of command is rooted in military history dating back to the 18th century when organizational flags with colors and symbols unique to each unit were developed. During a change of command conducted in front of the unit, the organizational flag is passed to the individual assuming command to which Soldiers of the unit would dedicate their loyalty and trust.
About the MICC
Headquartered at Joint Base San Antonio-Fort Sam Houston, Texas, the Mission and Installation Contracting Command consists of about 1,500 military and civilian members who are responsible for contracting goods and services in support of Soldiers as well as readying trained contracting units for the operating force and contingency environment when called upon. As part of its mission, MICC contracts are vital in feeding more than 200,000 Soldiers every day, providing many daily base operations support services at installations, facilitate training in the preparation of more than 100,000 conventional force members annually, training more than 500,000 students each year, and maintaining more than 14.4 million acres of land and 170,000 structures.
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