FORT LEONARD WOOD, Mo. — The U.S. Army Engineer School held a change-of-responsibility ceremony Wednesday in the Engineer Regimental Room at the John B. Mahaffey Museum Complex, where Chief Warrant Officer 5 Dean Registe relinquished responsibility to Chief Warrant Officer 5 Willie Gadsden Jr.
The host for the ceremony, Col. Joseph Goetz, USAES commandant, spoke on the “lasting impact” Registe has left on the Army Engineer Regiment.
“He really revolutionized how it is we’re going to assess warrant officers in the Engineer Regiment,” Goetz said. “And we use the term ‘revolutionize’ I think a little bit loosely sometimes, but it’s apt here.”
Goetz also called Registe “a joy to work with.”
“For a guy that spent one half of his career in Hawaii, and the other half on Fort Liberty (North Carolina), you are the perfect combination of laid-back determination that our Army has needed,” he added.
Goetz called Gadsden “emblematic of how deep the talent pool is” in the Army, and he charged Gadsden with building on Registe’s accomplishments.
“Own the terrain as the expert for training and leader development, for training our Army’s experts, and I think you’re going to be a fantastic regimental chief warrant officer,” Goetz said.
Registe called it an honor to serve as the fifth Army Engineer Regimental Chief Warrant Officer.
“This was an amazing journey, and I have professionally grown so much since entering this assignment many years ago with the help of so many great professionals,” Registe said. “This is truly a team of teams here at Fort Leonard Wood, and I am really blessed to be among all of you.”
Registe also offered some advice to the warrant officer cohort in attendance.
“Continue being subject matter experts and masters of your chosen craft that are always on the cutting edge of technology,” he said. “Always remember this: As warrant officers, we are the Army’s quiet professionals, not silent professionals.”
Gadsden, who most recently served here as the U.S. Army Prime Power School commander and deputy commandant, pledged to “lead with integrity, compassion, unwavering professionalism and an unyielding desire to excel.”
“I will provide determined and relentless leadership, as we face operational and strategic challenges, empower individual responsibility and cultivate a culture of professional growth and achievement,” Gadsden said. “United in purpose and resolute in our determination to elevate the Engineer Regiment, we will meet and exceed the expectations of 2030 and beyond. By enhancing our operational readiness, modernizing our technical capabilities and reinforcing our commitment to the future force, I am confident that our collective efforts will yield extraordinary results.”
More photos from the ceremony are available to view and download on the Fort Leonard Wood Flickr page.
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