JFK Special Warfare Center has new leader

[2RHPZ]

JFK Special Warfare Center has new leader

By Kevin Maurer
Staff writer

Maj. Gen. Geoffrey C. Lambert transferred command of the Army's John F. Kennedy Special Warfare Center and School to Col. Michael Rose on Friday in a ceremony at the school's Memorial Plaza on Fort Bragg.
Lambert is retiring.
Rose is the chief of staff for the school and will temporarily be the commander. He will relinquish command to Maj. Gen. James Parker on Friday.
About 100 people attended Friday's ceremony, which was interrupted by a driving rain. As the rain soaked through Lambert's uniform, he joked that at least he was not cold and hungry.
Lambert started his career in the 75th Ranger Regiment and has spent almost the entire 30 years in special operations. He took command of the John F. Kennedy Special Warfare Center and School in July 2003.
Lambert praised the soldiers fighting in the war on terrorism and in Iraq, but warned that the Army will continue to suffer casualties.
''We are going to have to have pain and suffering because there are very bad guys over there that we have to eliminate to protect this nation," he said.
Lt. Gen. Philip Kensinger, commanding general of U.S. Army Special Operations Command, was the keynote speaker. He credited Lambert with tailoring the school's training program to meet the demands of the war on terrorism. He said that after the attacks on Sept. 11, the number of soldiers trained at the school increased by 150 percent.
Under Lambert's leadership, the pass rate for the qualification course increased by 20 percent and several languages were added to better prepare soldiers for battlefield operations.
Kensinger said soldiers trained under Lambert's command are now fighting in Afghanistan and Iraq.
''When soldiers leave the schoolhouse, they leave as warriors," Kensinger said.
One of Lambert's final acts before retirement was to present Maj. Rob Gowan, a U.S. Army Special Operations Command public affairs officer, with a parachutist badge with combat jump device.
Gowan jumped into northern Iraq to support members of the 10th and 3rd Special Forces Groups who were fighting alongside Kurds during the war.
The general also presented his children with mementos and gave his wife, Bonnie Lambert, a bouquet of flowers.
A native of Inman, Kan., Lambert is moving to Tampa, Fla., to retire.

[2RHPZ]

3rd Group command passes

By Kevin Maurer
Staff writer

When Col. Joseph D. Celeski took command of the 3rd Special Forces Group two years ago, the ceremony was held in a dusty parking lot in Afghanistan. He spent the majority of his time in command fighting there.
Staff photo by Stephanie Bruce
Brig. Gen. Gary M. Jones, left, hands a guidon to Col. Patrick M. Higgins, who took command of the 3rd Special Forces Group on Tuesday on Fort Bragg.

On Tuesday, he turned over command of the 3rd Group to Col. Patrick M. Higgins in a ceremony at Meadows Memorial Plaza on Fort Bragg. Only a few soldiers were in formation for the ceremony because the majority of the battalion is in Afghanistan or Iraq. The 3rd Group is one of the most frequently deployed Special Forces units in the Army, officials said during the ceremony.
The group is primarily responsible for missions in the Caribbean and the western part of Africa. But Special Forces soldiers from all groups have been in Afghanistan and Iraq. The unit has won more than 1,500 combat awards since the start of the war on terrorism, Celeski said.

Brass in attendance
Lt. Gen. Philip R. Kensinger, commanding general of the U.S. Army Special Operations Command, Lt. Gen. William G. Boykin, deputy undersecretary of defense for intelligence and war-fighting support at the Pentagon, and Lt. Gen. John R. Vines, commanding general of the 18th Airborne Corps, attended the ceremony.
Brig. Gen. Gary Jones, the commander of the Army's Special Forces Command, passed the group's colors to Higgins. Jones applauded Celeski and the 3rd Group's record in the war on terrorism.
''There is no doubt that Col. Celeski's leadership played a key role in the success of this group," Jones said.
Celeski took command of the group in May 2002. The first soldiers from 3rd group deployed to Afghanistan in December 2001. In March 2002, the group's command staff deployed to Afghanistan.
The group's soldiers battled insurgents, and members of the 1st Battalion trained several battalions of the Afghan National Army at the Afghan Military Academy in Kabul, Afghanistan.
''I can think of no better way to serve my country after Sept. 11 then commanding the finest Special Forces unit fighting Al Qaeda, terrorists and Taliban insurgents," Celeski said.
He praised his former soldiers, thanking them for their compassion and commitment. Celeski is retiring after 32 years of service. Higgins takes command of the group after an assignment as the operations officer for Special Operations Command at MacDill Air Force Base, Fla.