Fort Sill Change of Command Ceremony [PHOTOS]

Today we said goodbye to Maj. General Mark McDonald and his wife Connie. Although they have only been here two years they have touched many lives. They have been a joy to get to know. It was hard to say goodbye but we are also looking forward to welcoming Maj. General Rossi and his wife Liz to the Fort Sill family. 

We attended the Change of Command ceremony at The Old Post Quadrangle which is the heart of the original post, where on January 8, 1869, General Sheridan held the first stake driven to mark the site.

Some of the highlights of the day were the 77th Army Band "Pride of Fort Sill" and "Costello's Own" the bagpipe section of the 77th Army Band.

No ceremony on Fort Sill would be complete without the Half Section.

I had never been to a change of command but the formality and pomp and circumstance were amazing. We watched the mounted inspection of troops, the formal change of command, the guidon exchange, the presentation of canisters and pass in review.

Here is a link to all the photos I took today.

I had a conversation with Connie a couple of week's ago and told her how I love meeting all the soldiers and their families from Fort Sill but then once you get to know them and start building a friendship they are transferred to another installation. I guess that's part of military life.

I have many friends that are leaving in the next couple of months and will be scattered all over the country; Kansas, California, Georgia, Tennessee, Texas and Hawaii. I have had the amazing opportunity to work with a lot of the women that support these amazing men we call soldiers. They have a special sisterhood that I envy but enjoy watching. They are a very close knit family, these women of the military.

They each tell me to think of it this way....wherever you go, there we are! So, if I ever want to take a vacation to someplace new I guess I could go to Kansas, California, Georgia, Tennessee, Texas or Hawaii and there they'll be!