{"id":69660,"date":"2023-12-18T23:00:00","date_gmt":"2023-12-19T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/?p=69660"},"modified":"2023-12-19T16:38:39","modified_gmt":"2023-12-19T16:38:39","slug":"usag-benelux-senior-enlisted-leader-relinquishes-responsibility","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/?p=69660","title":{"rendered":"USAG Benelux senior enlisted leader relinquishes responsibility"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\n U.S. Army Garrison Benelux bid farewell to Command Sgt. Major Gary E. Yurgans during a ceremony at Chi\u00e8vres Air Base, Dec. 19, 2023. (U.S. Army photo by Libby Weiler, USAG Benelux Public Affairs)
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CHIEVRES, Belgium \u2013 U.S. Army Garrison Benelux held a relinquishment of responsibility ceremony Dec. 19 in Hangar 2 at Chi\u00e8vres Air Base.<\/p>\n

Command Sgt. Major Gary Yurgans, who served more than two years as the senior enlisted advisor for USAG Benelux, bid farewell to the garrison and spoke about his nearly 30 years of Army service and pending retirement.<\/p>\n

Col. Lindsay Matthews, USAG Benelux commander, accepted the unit colors from Yurgans to symbolize his relinquishment of the duties and responsibilities of the garrison command sergeant major and commended Yurgans for his leadership and contributions to the Benelux.<\/p>\n

\u201cCommand Sgt. Major Yurgans, you truly made a positive difference in USAG Benelux and IMCOM-Europe,\u201d said Matthews. \u201cYou helped us change the way we see USAG Benelux\u2019s role in this organization, how we support the NATO and USAREUR-AF mission and significantly improved our customer service and Soldier talent management.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Non-Commissioned Officer Corps is the backbone of the Army, and their responsibility is to teach, coach and mentor the future of our fighting force, said Matthews. \u201cYurgans is a man who will bend over backwards to spend time with his team \u2026 to get to know them, to help them in their struggles, and celebrate their achievements.\u201d<\/p>\n

For Yurgans, who spent most of his career as an Army musician, the chance to serve as a command sergeant major at a garrison in Europe was a unique opportunity that became the crowning jewel of his military career.<\/p>\n

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\n U.S. Army Garrison Benelux bid farewell to Command Sgt. Major Gary E. Yurgans during a ceremony at Chi\u00e8vres Air Base, Dec. 19, 2023. (U.S. Army photo by Libby Weiler, USAG Benelux Public Affairs)
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\u201cI truly believe our paths were brought together here for a reason,\u201d said Yurgans. \u201cI feel I was placed here to do the best that I can for this organization.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWith a combined vision and leader emphasis we were able to accomplish some significant achievements. Amongst those were USAG Benelux being selected as the Best Garrison for IMCOM-E, 2021,\u201d Yurgans said.<\/p>\n

Yurgans, the first Army musician to serve as command sergeant major, said his time in the Benelux opened his eyes to all of the challenges involved in working at the garrison level, especially for an organization that spans three nations.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt took me 28 years to get to Europe, but finally I’m here and am so appreciative for this experience and for the friendships I have made,\u201d said Yurgans. \u201cOne thing I learned right from the start with this organization, you can\u2019t do it alone, without the professional, dedicated, committed Soldiers, civilians, host nation and mission partners that are the driving force needed to succeed.\u201d<\/p>\n

One of the things Yurgans found most endearing about his time living and working in the Benelux was the opportunity to participate in several World War II memorials, such as the commemoration of the Battle of the Bulge in Bastogne, Belgium.<\/p>\n

\u201cVisiting Bastogne was truly an eye-opening experience that serves as a powerful reminder of the individual Soldier experience and sacrifices endured to ensure freedom,\u201d said Yurgans. \u201cThe love for the American Soldier was never made more apparent than on this day, talking with local folks and seeing the veterans that were present. This made me realize the importance for every Soldier who serves in the military, to serve a tour in Europe and visit places like Bastogne.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\n U.S. Army Garrison Benelux bid farewell to Command Sgt. Major Gary E. Yurgans during a ceremony at Chi\u00e8vres Air Base, Dec. 19, 2023. (U.S. Army photo by Libby Weiler, USAG Benelux Public Affairs)
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The relinquishment of responsibility ceremony ended with a short retirement ceremony congratulating Yurgans for his 30 years of distinguished military service ending in January 2024.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

U.S. Army Garrison Benelux bid farewell to Command Sgt. Major Gary E. Yurgans during a ceremony at Chi\u00e8vres Air Base, Dec. 19, 2023. (U.S. Army photo by Libby Weiler, USAG Benelux Public Affairs) (Photo Credit: U.S. Soldiers pass the gideon during the official portion of the change of responsibility ceremony. ) VIEW ORIGINAL CHIEVRES, Belgium […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":69662,"comment_status":"close","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-69660","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\/69660","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=69660"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/69660\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":69666,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/69660\/revisions\/69666"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/69662"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=69660"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=69660"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=69660"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}