First Army cased its colors Friday at Fort Gillem, Ga. in a ceremony signifying the headquarters relocation to Rock Island Arsenal, Ill.
Lt. Gen. J. Michael Bednarek and Command Sgt. Maj. Jesse Andrews, Jr. cased
the unit colors as part of an Army tradition that symbolizes the movement of
a major unit to a new area of operations. The official ceremony also
included the playing of the National Anthem and Retreat (signifying the end
of the official duty day while paying respect to the American flag).
First Army will conduct a colors uncasing ceremony at Rock Island Arsenal in
mid-July.
First Army's mission is to mobilize, train, validate, deploy and demobilize
all continental United States-based Army National Guard and U.S. Army
Reserve Forces mobilizing in support of combatant commander requirements
around the world.
In 2010, First Army trained more than 70,000 service members for combatant
commander requirements worldwide to include: Iraq, Afghanistan, Guantanamo
Bay, Multinational Force Observers and the Horn of Africa.
First army is in the process of relocating its headquarters to Rock Island
Arsenal, Ill. Large groups of First Army Soldiers and civilian workers will
arrive during the next two-and-a-half weeks. All First Army employees will
be at the Arsenal by mid-July. First Army is bringing approximately 300
jobs to the Quad City area.
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