FORT STEWART, Ga. , - In 2009, Lt. Col. Nora Marcos, commander of Division Special Troops Battalion, 3rd Infantry Division, led approximately 1,200 Soldiers, who serve as the division's staff and battalion support element, to Contingency Operating Base Speicher, in northern Iraq, to complete a deployment, which lasted more than a year for many of the Soldiers under her command. The morning of Jan. 20, Lt. Col. Marcos relinquished command of her unit in a ceremony at Cottrell Field, thanking the Soldiers who sacrificed so much during the unit's deployment.
"The Soldiers that stand before you, are absolutely the best our country has to offer," Lt. Col. Marcos said. "There is no mission they can't accomplish there is no challenge too great. They have exceeded my expectations. And they exceeded with the tenacity, dedication and professionalism that is ... our American Soldier."
She added she was blessed and honored to serve as the battalion's commander and gave credit to the troops and their Families for her success as a leader.
The new commander of DSTB, 3rd ID is Lt. Col Earl Rilington, a native of Savannah. He said that he was looking forward to commanding the battalion and stated the mission for the unit will be different from what it has been in recent years.
He added that, since 2003, the battalion has been on a constant rotation to the combat zone in Iraq.
"They're pretty exhausted," he said. Families and Soldiers have certainly made a few sacrifices."
Now, Lt. Col. Rilington is going to lead the battalion during a new mission.
"We're changing the focus to full-spectrum operations," Lt. Col. Rilington said, "which means Iraq is not our sole focus. We're going to now focus on being able to deploy anywhere in the world, wherever our nation calls. Within the unit, my primary focus is going to be focused on readiness: readiness of people and readiness of equipment."
Lieutenant Colonel Marcos will go to Washington D.C., where she will work on the Army Staff G-3/5/7 Land War Net Division.
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