The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Transatlantic Division conducted a Relinquishment of Command ceremony June 16, 2020, at its headquarters in Winchester, Virginia, as the Division’s outgoing commander, Col. (P) Christopher Beck departed the organization for a new position as the Commander of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Southwestern Division in Texas.
The relinquishment of command ceremony is a time-honored tradition. It serves to ensure a unit and its personnel are never without "official" leadership. The ceremony occurs when one commander departs prior to a new commander taking command. TAD’s ceremony was hosted by Lt. Gen. Todd T. Semonite, the 54th Chief of Engineers and USACE Commanding General.
“Command of a Division goes beyond accountability for projects, people, and money. It's about driving change, developing future leaders, and serving as guardians of the Corps' reputation,” Semonite said during the ceremony, which was broadcast on the Division’s Facebook page live due to COVID-19 social distancing restrictions. “Commanders are responsible for everything that happens or fails to happen on their watch. COL Chris Beck is a proven guardian of the Corps' credibility; leaders who develop solutions for the nation's toughest challenges while taking care of their people.”
In lauding the Beck family’s time at the Transatlantic Division, Semonite recognized the many people who have provided essential support while they served TAD – including support from the Division's team of professionals, and the many allied and host-nation partners the Division works with across the Middle East. He said Beck’s contributions to the Corps of Engineers’ success during his tenure as the TAD commander are numerous and significant.
“Chris skillfully commanded one of the most complex Divisions within the Corps of Engineers, consisting of the Middle East District, the Afghanistan District, and Task Force Essayons in Iraq and Kuwait, with more than 700 military and civilian professionals executing nearly $6 billion in construction, engineering, contracting, and services,” said Semonite. “This Division provides military construction, foreign military sales, and Operations and Maintenance support across 12 countries in the U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) area of responsibility and the U.S. Special Operations Command (SOCOM) global construction program.
“Within the CENTCOM area of operations, Chris guided his Division through significant transitions, which included the conclusion, transfer, and redeployment of the Mosul Dam Task Force mission supporting the Department of State and the Government of Iraq to improve the stability of the Mosul Dam and thus protect millions of Iraqi's. He ably guided the Division through transitions of our support to Operation Inherent Resolve in Iraq via Task Force Essayons. He enabled and guided the unprecedented growth of the Transatlantic Middle East District's Foreign Military Sales program while maintaining a robust military construction, Operations and Maintenance, and host-nation funded construction programs valued at over $5 billion. He worked tirelessly to increase and add relevance to CENTCOM’s Theater Security Cooperation plans and programs to enable access, build partner capacity, and help reinvigorate CENTCOM’s fledgling security cooperation efforts.
Semonite also noted the work being accomplished by the Division’s military and civilian workforce was being done during one of the most tumultuous and volatile periods in the CENTCOM area of responsibility.
“Chris has enabled success across the Division…His leadership abilities are a direct reflection of the outstanding commitment to excellence on which the people of TAD prides itself,” Semonite concluded.
Beck finished the ceremony by addressing the TAD workforce, saying he appreciated having the opportunity to be part of the TAD Team during the year he spent as the boss. “Over the last year, I have seen the CENTCOM AOR more unpredictable than in any time in my career and throughout all of that, you have continued to deliver for our stakeholders and ensure that USACE provides timely engineering solutions to our partners’ toughest full spectrum challenges every day,” he said.
He also took the opportunity to thank several individuals across the Division, saying they truly represent the Army values and understand what it means to take care of our people and deliver our program.
“I have been inspired by the leadership you all have shown and been challenged to keep up with you and more importantly not hinder you all as you are usually steps ahead of me,” he said. “As I leave this organization, I leave with a lot of respect for the leaders and teammates I had the opportunity to work with every day. You are all very committed to what you do, often in very challenging conditions but get it done. That speaks highly of our entire enterprise, as we are truly representative of the nearly 36,000 military and civilians throughout USACE."
He concluded by saying: “Work every day to make our organization as good as it can be so that we can facilitate the success our stakeholders throughout the AOR and globe, and ultimately the entire USACE enterprise. I truly appreciate my time on the TAD team and hope that I was able to provide a little value to what you all deliver each day.”
[Watch a video of the live ceremony on the Transatlantic Division’s Facebook page @ https://www.facebook.com/watch/live/?v=2575237322575891]