Deatrick relinquishes responsibility for Pacific installations

Craig L. Deatrick relinquished responsibility as director of U.S. Army Installation Management Command-Pacific in a ceremony hosted by the IMCOM Commanding General, Lt. Gen. Omar J. Jones, IV, at the historic Palm Circle Gazebo on Fort Shafter, Hawaii on July 12, 2023 at 10 a.m.

The simple, traditional ceremony included the passing of the unit colors from the Command Sgt. Major, Jon Y. Williams, to Deatrick and then to Jones, which symbolized Deatrick’s relinquishment of responsibility and authority for the organization.

After the passing of the colors, Jones addressed the ceremony attendees by opening with a thank you to IMCOM professionals around the world.

“To all of you, thank you. Thank you for your service. Thank you for your expertise. Thank you for your professionalism. Thank you for what you do each and every day to support Army people and the readiness of Army around the world.”

Jones explained that Senior Executive Service leaders of IMCOM Directorates, like Deatrick, have three primary missions: taking care of people, providing expertise in installation management, and directly supporting the priorities of Senior Commanders.

“Craig Deatrick has excelled in all three of those missions,” said Jones.

Before lauding Deatrick’s accomplishments during his tenure as IMCOM-Pacific director, Jones took a moment to introduce Brenda Lee McCullough, director of IMCOM-Readiness, and mentioned that Army senior leaders recently approved McCullough to be the next IMCOM-Pacific director.

“Brenda Lee is going to join us in about a month,” said Jones.

Jones then took a few minutes to praise Deatrick’s leadership style and highlight his accomplishments while serving as director of IMCOM-Pacific.

“He’s engaged and he’s caring … He creates conditions for people to succeed and then empowers them to accomplish that success. He supports them, even if it means underwriting some honest mistakes,” said Jones.

Jones went on to explain that Deatrick maintained his engaged approach to leadership as IMCOM-Pacific faced numerous significant challenges. Jones described Deatrick’s success leading IMCOM-Pacific through the Oahu, Hawaii Navy water system contamination, other Hawaii infrastructure challenges, a surge in COVID-19 cases, and the complexities of operating U.S. Army installations in Japan, the Republic of Korea, and the Republic of the Marshall Islands.

“We’ve asked a lot of this team in the past three years and you’ve met every challenge,” said Jones.

Jones closed his remarks by thanking Deatrick and his family for their service to the Army in the Pacific.

After Jones spoke, he presented Deatrick with two awards. Deatrick received the Secretary of the Army Superior Civilian Service Medal, signed by Gen. Charles R. Hamilton, for exceptionally meritorious service while serving as IMCOM-Pacific director. Deatrick also received the IMCOM Stalwart Award, which recognizes accomplishments that are an inspiration to others, contribute to the command’s success, and enhance operational capabilities.

Deatrick then took the podium to offer his farewell remarks. He personally welcomed all of the senior leaders in attendance, including the first-ever IMCOM-Pacific Director, Stanley Sokololoski, and the second IMCOM-Pacific Director, Debra Zedalis.

Deatrick explained that his remarks would cover three Army themes: Winning Matters, People First, and Be All You Can Be.

Deatrick then took the time to thank senior leaders he served. He mentioned, by name, every leader on every garrison command team he had led during his tenure as IMCOM-Pacific director, with anecdotes about each person. He also recognized each member of the IMCOM-Pacific senior staff, thanking each of them and their teams.

“As General Jones elucidated, there have been a myriad of challenges … there are enduring challenges every day in the installation business. What’s key is that the team, and our partners, and leaders, coalesced around the problems and reached positive resolution. That is a credit, not to me, but to every one of you,” said Deatrick.

Deatrick closed his remarks by saying, “Winning Matters, People First, and Be All You Can Be should be motivational every day that we get up to put our very best into what we do because what we do is important.”