Change in command of 655 Regional Support Group at Westover base
Family, friends, and the soldiers of the 655 Regional Support Group witnessed a command change from one officer to another on Sunday at the Westover Air Reserve Base in Chicopee. This celebration is one of the military's oldest traditions.
'We have a long process of selection in terms of our leadership and also military professional development that has led me to this point,' said Colonel Jay Greeley.
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Colonel Greeley joined the military in Virginia 25 years ago, shortly after 9/11. He's been a dedicated citizen-soldier with over two decades of experience in logistics and operations in the U.S. and overseas.
His commitment led him to become the new commander of the 655th Regional Support Group, a unit that was established in 2002. The unit has been deployed worldwide to provide direct combat service support, command and control to units under its leadership.
'The commander will oversee this unit that is made up of about 1,300 soldiers throughout New England,' Colonel Sean Sherwood said.
It was a position that Colonel Sean Sherwood did not want to let go of. He led the RSG for the last two years, but as he moves on to another commander role in his home state of Hawaii, he believes that the RSG's soldiers are ready for what's next.
'Soldiers here have learned to adapt, push through innovative ways for what we have to do to manage the expectations of the battlefield changes quickly,' Sherwood said. 'And it has changed significantly in the way they think.'
Colonel Greeley told 22News he already has a plan for the unit, because the mission of the unit is to function as a command and control headquarters to extend protection over the Combat Support Brigade.
'In the next couple of years, we will really be focused on being ready now,' Greeley said. 'What that means is becoming tactically and technically proficient, doing soldier basic fundamentals of shoot, move, and communicate. So when our nation needs us, no matter where it is in the world, our soldiers are ready.'
All of this comes at a perfect time, as the U.S. Army celebrated its 250th birthday this year.
WWLP-22News, an NBC affiliate, began broadcasting in March 1953 to provide local news, network, syndicated, and local programming to western Massachusetts. Watch the 22News Digital Edition weekdays at 4 p.m. on WWLP.com.
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