{"id":18668,"date":"2023-07-13T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2023-07-13T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/?p=18668"},"modified":"2023-07-14T06:41:31","modified_gmt":"2023-07-14T06:41:31","slug":"fort-cavazos-welcomes-new-garrison-commander","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/?p=18668","title":{"rendered":"Fort Cavazos welcomes new garrison commander"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\n Brenda Lee McCullough, IMCOM \u2013 Readiness director, passes the guidon to Col. Lakicia Stokes, incoming Fort Cavazos Garrison commander, during the Fort Cavazos Garrison Change of Command Ceremony July 7 at III Armored Corps and Fort Cavazos Headquarters. (U.S. Army photo by Blair Dupre, Fort Cavazos Public Affairs)
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FORT CAVAZOS, Texas<\/strong> \u2014 Fort Cavazos officials welcomed\u00a0their new garrison commander Col. Lakicia Stokes and bid farewell to outgoing garrison commander Col. Chad R. Foster in a change of command ceremony July 7 here.<\/p>\n

Foster will assume the duties as the III Armored Corps chief of staff in his next role. Stokes comes to Fort Cavazos after earning a Master of Strategic Studies from the U.S. Army War College.<\/p>\n

At the beginning of the ceremony, Lt. Gen. Sean C. Bernabe, III Armored Corps and Fort Cavazos commanding general, spoke about Foster and his time here.<\/p>\n

\u201cLadies and gentlemen, Chad Foster was absolutely the right leader at the right time for Fort Cavazos,\u201d Bernabe said, explaining that when Foster took command of Fort Cavazos, some critical relationships had been lost after the pandemic as well as still recovering from damages caused by Winter Storm Uri. \u201cWe all watched him build a strong team of teams. It\u2019s a beautiful thing to watch. There\u2019s a strong team of teams on the installation with all the green suiters and (Department of the Army) civilian professionals and also a team of teams in this great Central Texas community.\u201d<\/p>\n

Bernabe said the installation is grateful for Foster\u2019s calm leadership through challenges like wildfires, another winter storm, a freeze and even a few tornados touching down in the training area, as well as improvements to the installation including barracks and housing renovations.<\/p>\n

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\n Lt. Gen. Sean C. Bernabe, III Armored Corps and Fort Cavazos commanding general, shakes hands with Col. Chad R. Foster, outgoing Fort Cavazos Garrison commander, during the Fort Cavazos Garrison Change of Command Ceremony July 7 at III Armored Corps and Fort Cavazos Headquarters. (U.S. Army photo by Blair Dupre, Fort Cavazos Public Affairs)
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\n Lt. Gen. Sean C. Bernabe, III Armored Corps and Fort Cavazos commanding general, speaks to the audience gathered for the Fort Cavazos Garrison Change of Command Ceremony July 7 at III Armored Corps and Fort Cavazos Headquarters. (U.S. Army photo by Blair Dupre, Fort Cavazos Public Affairs)
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\u201cWe will continue to benefit from his steadfast vision, always with an eye on the future,\u201d Bernabe said. \u201cChad is all about customer service; he\u2019s all about quality of life; he\u2019s all about caring for Soldiers, DA civilians and their families.\u201d<\/p>\n

Next, Bernabe welcomed Stokes.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve been getting letters and cards for the last several weeks telling me how lucky we are to add her to the team here at team Cavazos,\u201d he said. \u201c(She has) an absolutely stellar reputation. Known around the Army as a caring leader, a creative problem solver, a hard worker, somebody who is really gifted in building strong, meaningful relationships \u2014 that\u2019s going to fit in very well here, Lakicia. We feel lucky that you\u2019re going to join the team here. We are confident that under your leadership Fort Cavazos will remain the installation of choice nestled very snuggly inside this Central Texas community of choice.\u201d<\/p>\n

After receiving the guidon from Foster and passing it to Stokes, symbolizing the transfer of responsibility, Brenda Lee McCullough, director, U.S. Army Installation Management Command Directorate-Readiness, thanked Foster for his dedication and welcomed Stokes.<\/p>\n

\u201cChad, I know this is a bittersweet moment for you,\u201d McCullough expressed. \u201cThe Army entrusts garrison commanders to defend and secure Army installations and you, Chad, as the garrison commander led our nation\u2019s defense of Fort Cavazos with unparalleled expertise and grace. Thank you for your commitment to the Soldiers, civilians and families of U.S. Army Garrison-Fort Cavazos.<\/p>\n

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\n Brenda Lee McCullough, IMCOM \u2013 Readiness director, motions to the crowd during the Fort Cavazos Garrison Change of Command Ceremony July 7 at III Armored Corps and Fort Cavazos Headquarters. (U.S. Army photo by Blair Dupre, Fort Cavazos Public Affairs)
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\u201cLakicia, I am very excited to see you assume command at this great place,\u201d she continued. \u201cAs a proven leader, I am confident that you will invest the same passion, professionalism and expertise in the Soldiers, civilians and family members of Fort Cavazos. They deserve nothing less.\u201d<\/p>\n

Then Foster took the podium and, after thanking those who helped him throughout his time as garrison commander, said he felt unprepared when he took command, but the DA civilians at the Great Place helped him overcome this.<\/p>\n

\u201c(They) overcome my many deficiencies in knowledge and experience in relation to the complex world of garrison and installation management command,\u201d he said. \u201cThey are professionals. I thank them for their professionalism, but most of all I thank you all for being here. It\u2019s been my honor to serve at your sides.\u201d<\/p>\n

After thanking his deputies to the garrison commander, Keith Gogas and Greta Buccellato, and garrison command sergeants major, Command Sgts. Maj. Matthew Ladd and Calvin Hall, he thanked the Central Texas community for their support.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s no other installation in our Army that enjoys this level of support, fellowship, connection \u2026 you name it, we got it,\u201d Foster shared. \u201cI\u2019m happy to see many members of the community with us here today. I wish I could reach out there and hug you all at the same time. You are second to none.<\/p>\n

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\n Col. Chad R. Foster, outgoing Fort Cavazos Garrison commander, speaks to the audience at the Fort Cavazos Garrison Change of Command July 7 at III Armored Corps and Fort Cavazos Headquarters. Foster will now serve as the III Armored Corps chief of staff. (U.S. Army photo by Blair Dupre, Fort Cavazos Public Affairs)
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\u201cComplex problems require community solutions, and our installation confronts complex problems on a daily basis,\u201d he continued. \u201cTherefore, we are fortunate to have a community such as this. One that stands with us when things are tough. One that steps forward when a lot of others might step back. Together we have done a lot and I know you\u2019re going to do even more great things with Colonel Stokes at the helm. Wrap your arms around her the same way you did me and my family.\u201d<\/p>\n

In his final remarks, he thanked his family as well as those gathered in the East Atrium of the III Armored Corps Headquarters building.<\/p>\n

\u201cThank you for making this journey with me,\u201d he said to his family before motioning to the atrium. \u201cThis team is incredible. This is the Great Place for a reason. There\u2019s two types of people in this world \u2014 those who know that Fort Cavazos is the greatest place on Earth to live and serve, and those that are wrong. Thank you for everything you\u2019ve done.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\n Col. Lakicia Stokes, Fort Cavazos Garrison commander, addresses the audience gathered for the Fort Cavazos Garrison Change of Command Ceremony July 7 at III Armored Corps and Fort Cavazos Headquarters. (U.S. Army photo by Blair Dupre, Fort Cavazos Public Affairs)
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Stokes concluded the ceremony crediting God for allowing her to continue to serve with greater responsibility and her family for their support. She said she was happy to be back at Fort Cavazos taking command once again.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is with great pride, honor and enthusiasm that I stand before you today as the garrison commander,\u201d she expressed. \u201cI am deeply thankful, humbled and grateful to be joining your ranks. I promise to lead with integrity, compassion and a steadfast commitment to everyone\u2019s wellbeing. I am confident that we continue to excel as a team and I promise to give you nothing but my best. May God bless III Armored Corps and Fort Cavazos and the United States of America.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Brenda Lee McCullough, IMCOM \u2013 Readiness director, passes the guidon to Col. Lakicia Stokes, incoming Fort Cavazos Garrison commander, during the Fort Cavazos Garrison Change of Command Ceremony July 7 at III Armored Corps and Fort Cavazos Headquarters. (U.S. Army photo by Blair Dupre, Fort Cavazos Public Affairs) (Photo Credit: Blair Dupre) VIEW ORIGINAL FORT […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":18670,"comment_status":"close","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-18668","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18668","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=18668"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18668\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":18677,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18668\/revisions\/18677"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/18670"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=18668"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=18668"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=18668"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}