FORT LEONARD WOOD, Mo. — The Center for Seabees and Facilities Engineering Navy Detachment Fort Leonard Wood held a change-of-charge ceremony June 26 in Shields Hall, where Navy Lt. Joshua Lamb relinquished command to Navy Lt. Jasen Nickman.
Lamb, who took command of the detachment in May 2021, said serving at Fort Leonard Wood has been a rewarding experience.
“So much has transpired in the last three short years. As I looked back at the countless accomplishments and awards we have achieved, I am amazed,” Lamb said. “Your accomplishments are a celebration of collaboration, teamwork and the power of collective effort. I am proud to have worked side by side with each of you.”
Lamb listed some achievements for which he was most proud of the detachment, including collaborating with the U.S. Navy Seabee Museum to ensure new Seabees training on Fort Leonard Wood understand their heritage, rendering honors at 258 funeral services, and being the 2021 and 2023 Fort Leonard Wood Joint Services Truck Rodeo champions.
Navy Capt. Jeffrey Deviney, Center for Seabees and Facilities Engineering and Civil Engineer Corps Officers School commanding officer, who presided over the ceremony, had nothing but praise for the detachment and Lamb.
“This is my first time at Fort Leonard Wood, and I am truly impressed with the training facilities and equipment available here. Just the sheer amount of land you have here for engineer training does my engineer heart good. I saw rows of dozers, front-end loaders and excavators lined up ready to rock and roll for training — this place is amazing. I have never seen anything like that,” Deviney said. “Josh went above and beyond the standard engineer training to make new Seabees feel like they are part of a small, but proud, storied, worldwide heritage for the Navy. And to succeed in a joint environment like this, you must be able to build relationships — as I look at the attendees here today, I can see that he succeeded.”
Deviney said, under Lamb’s leadership, the detachment’s 54-person staff trained more than 6,900 personnel in three years, all while, “injecting new technology into training, improving test scores and reducing failure rates.”
Lamb’s next assignment will be in Virginia Beach, Virginia, at the Navy Expeditionary Warfighting Development Center.
Nickman, a native of Pleasanton, Nebraska, joined the Navy in 2011, as a Construction Electrician. He comes to Fort Leonard Wood from Gulfport, Mississippi, where he was the reserve support staff officer in charge and assistant training officer for Naval Mobile Construction Battalion 27.
During his speech, Deviney welcomed Nickman to Fort Leonard Wood.
“As a prior-enlisted Seabee, your deployments to Afghanistan and Africa, among other places, showcase the expeditionary engineer skills we have been famous for since World War II. And with your previous instructor time at our detachment at Sheppard Air Force Base, and your deployments to the Pacific after your commissioning, there is no doubt you are the right person for this job,” Deviney said. “I expect you to build upon what Josh has done and take this detachment to even greater heights. I look forward to working with you as you ensure our Seabees and joint engineers are ready to build and fight wherever and whenever needed. Welcome aboard.”
Nickman said he could see the heart and dedication Lamb put into leading the detachment and felt like he had, “big shoes to fill. I am in awe of what you have done here. You have accomplished great things. I will commit every day to improving upon the joint relationships you have created here.”
Nickman said it was an honor to be chosen to be the detachment’s next officer in charge.
“You can expect that I will tirelessly work to support the team here by ensuring we have a climate promoting professionalism, teamwork and dedication to our Seabees,” Nickman said. “We are going to take Fort Leonard Wood to even greater heights.”
More information about training at the CSFE Detachment Fort Leonard Wood can be found on their website.
More photos from the ceremony are available to view and download on the Fort Leonard Wood Flickr page.
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