ARLINGTON, Va. – A new company and battalion headquarters were activated in the Army National Guard directorate at the National Guard Bureau in a ceremony at the Herbert R. Temple Army National Guard Readiness Center Jan. 28.
The new units – Headquarters and Headquarters Company, Army National Guard, and Headquarters Battalion, Army National Guard – represent a substantial change to the Army Guard directorate’s organizational structure.
“For 52 years, we’ve operated without a battalion headquarters,” said Lt. Gen. Jon Jensen, director of the Army National Guard.
During that time, the Military District of Washington assumed battalion headquarters responsibilities for Army Guard directorate personnel. Friday’s ceremony transferred those administrative responsibilities and related functions under the NGB’s own Army Guard battalion. The MDW now serves as the brigade-level headquarters for those actions.
“The activation of this headquarters will shift most battalion command responsibilities and authority from the Military District of Washington and Joint Base Myer-Henderson Hall to ourselves,” said Col. Michael Booker, deputy chief of staff of the Army Guard.
That fits with a changed Army National Guard.
“The Army Guard of today, compared to the 1970s, is a completely different organization,” said Jensen. “I think what this recognizes is the continuing maturation of the directorate here in the Army Guard.”
The company and battalion stand ready to take on the mission and continue with that maturation, said Lt. Col. Colleen Shepherd, the battalion commander.
“The team we’ve assembled in our headquarters battalion is ready, willing and able to achieve, if not surpass, your expectations,” she said. “We will do everything in our power to ensure mission readiness and accomplishment.”
Jensen said that as the battalion’s first commander, Shepherd will also have a prominent role in the unit’s history, noting that special emphasis is often placed on the first and last commanders of a unit.
For Shepherd, it’s a challenge she said she’s excited to take on.
“Here lies an opportunity to create the foundation from which this unit’s legacy will grow,” she said. “Herein lies an opportunity to develop an organization grounded in trust and confidence from our fellow Soldiers, built on being present and getting results from the team.”
Her goal, she said, is to “build a positive and safe environment from which the organization can flourish.”
Jensen noted the activation was a first for him as well.
“I think I’ve done just about anything you could do in the Army, but I’ve never done an activation ceremony of a brand new battalion,” he said. “I’ve been a part of ceremonies where we’ve converted a battalion to a different type of battalion, or where we renumbered a battalion, but never in my career have I been at an Army unit’s birth.”
Jensen said he was proud to be a part of the ceremony and see the unit take shape.
“Lt. Col. Shepherd, first and foremost, congratulations on taking battalion command,” he said. “And congratulations on being the first commander of this battalion.”
Sgt. Maj. Brian Gary will be the acting battalion sergeant major, while Maj. Matt Jordan is the company commander and 1st Sgt. Jackie Lampert is the company first sergeant.