FORT CARSON, Colo. -- Brig. Gen. James Pasquarette, deputy commanding general-support, 4th Infantry Division and Fort Carson, bid farewell to the Ironhorse Division and Mountain Post after more than two years of leading the division's Soldiers, during a retreat ceremony at Fort Carson Oct. 28.
Pasquarette, who served the 4th Inf. Div. as the 1st Brigade Combat Team commander from 2005-2007, said he enjoyed serving with the Ironhorse Division and he was proud of everything the division accomplished during his tenure.
"I am proud of how we did here as a team, but I am going to miss the 4th Infantry Division," Pasquarette said. "The legacy of this great division is still being written."
During his time with the 4th Inf. Div., Pasquarette set the standard as a leader who could accomplish any task set before him, no matter how complicated, said Maj. Gen. David G. Perkins, commanding general, 4th Inf. Div. and Fort Carson.
"I tell folks that good leaders can do things that they have done before, repetitively, well," Perkins said. "Great leaders can do things that they have never done before, that nobody has ever done before and do them well. Within that metric, Jim Pasquarette is a great leader."
Perkins explained that during the division headquarters' deployment to northern Iraq in support of Operation New Dawn, Pasquarette's efforts to unite the many factions within the Iraqi Security Forces were essential to the success of Task Force Ironhorse's mission to transition responsibility for the security of Iraq over to the ISF.
"When we first got there, and I looked at the enormity of the task of transitioning and reposturing of Iraq, what came to mind immediately was, 'Where do we start?'" Perkins said. "The answer was very clear, 'Put Jim in charge of it.' I have never seen someone who can bring together so many teams of people who are so dissimilar; Kurdish Peshmerga, Iraqi Army and U.S. State Department and (more), all brought together."
For his next duty assignment, Pasquarette is slated to take up residence at the Pentagon in Washington, D.C., where he will continue to serve the needs of Soldiers throughout the Army as the director of the Army's Comprehensive Soldier Fitness Program.
Pasquarette said that while he and his Family are eager to start the next chapter in their lives, he will miss Fort Carson and the Soldiers of the Ironhorse Division.
"A great standard has been set by what I like to call a 'meat and potatoes' division; we don't toot our own horn but the Army knows the 4th ID takes on the tough missions and don't make a big deal about it. They know we knock them out."
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