Lieutenant Colonel Russell takes command at JFTB

In a ceremony heavy in history but light in length, Lietenant Colonel Susan Russell took command of Los Alamitos Joint Forces Training Base from Timothy O’Reilly.

Major General Scott Johnson presided over the transfer of command.

~~Brigadier General James P. Combs~~ Brigadier General Keith Jones, who left the JFTB to take Camp Roberts in hand, sat in the front row of the audience next to Cypress Mayor Leroy Mills.

Other local civilian representatives included Don Martinez from the Stanton Chamber of Commerce, John Osborn of the Los Alamitos Chamber of Commerce and Councilwoman Gerri Graham-Mejia of the City of Los Alamitos.

A reception followed on the patio of Building 15, headquarters for the base.

Update 2011-10-24:

As Major Armstrong says in the comments, I should have identified the past commander as Brigadier General Jones, not Combs. I do know the difference, and have no excuse for the mix-up.

Thank you to Major Armstrong for catching my error.

Featured photo

Lieutenant Colonel Russell takes the detachment guidon from Major General Johnson, symbolizing her acceptance of command of Los Alamitos Joint Forces Training Base.

Also pictured are outgoing commander Lieutenant Colonel Timothy O’Reilly (left), who accepted the guidon from Master Sergeant Lindsay, the highest-ranking enlisted officer in the detachment. Lieutenant Colonel O’Reilly then handed the guidon to Major General Johnson, surrendering command along with the guidon.

To complete the circle, Lieutenant Colonel Russell handed the guidon back to Master Sergeant Lindsay. His acceptance of the guidon recognized her command and acknowledged his (and his troops’) loyalty to the new command.

More photos of the change-of-command ceremony are available at the OC Breeze Flickr photostream.

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About the Author

shelley

Shelley Henderson is a reformed computer and networking geek turned freelance writer. Now she only fixes her own networks and computers. That leaves time for writing, and writing and more writing. And editing the Orange County Breeze. Shelley most enjoys visiting and finding out about local businesses to write business profiles that allow our communities to learn more about their local businesses and the people who own and run them. If you own or manage a business in our coverage area and would like to invite Shelley to write a business profile, let us know.