Wednesday, Jun. 15, 2011

3rd Bn., 11th Inf. Regt., changes command

Lt. Col. John Best replaced Lt. Col. Dean Bushnell as commander of the 3rd Battalion (Officer Candidate School), 11th Infantry Regiment, in a change of command ceremony Wednesday at Stilwell Field.

“Today is both a hard day and a great day on fortress Benning,” said Col. Sean McCaffrey, commander of the 199th Infantry Brigade.

“We say goodbye to team Bushnell — Dean and Kathy, husband and wife — two inspirational leaders who have had an incredible impact on thousands of new lieutenants, who enter the commissioning challenge here at Fort Benning and who are now serving the nation around the world as men and women of character.”

McCaffrey said the Bushnell and Best families — along with the officer candidates — are “what help make Fort Benning such a wonderful place to serve.”

Best, the incoming commander, thanked Bushnell and his wife for their support during the transition to change command.

“You’ve created a great team and your efforts will have a long and lasting affect on this battalion and its future officers,” he said.

Best’s previous assignment was as the G-3 chief of plans at the Joint Multinational Training Command in Grafenwoehr, Germany.

“To the cadre and officer candidates of 3-11 Infantry, I have experienced firsthand the results of your tremendous efforts,” Best said. “The OCS graduates join the ranks of the operational force are exceeding expectations. And I stand here proudly, looking at the source of their success.”

The outgoing commander welcomed Best and his wife, Alisala, to the battalion.

“Your heart will swell with pride at every graduation. You are the right folks and you will take an already great unit and make it far better — congratulations,” Bushnell said.

Bushnell said his time as commander went by in a blink of an eye. The 6,000 officer candidates had various backgrounds and Bushnell credited the support of others to the success of the officer candidates.

“Some (are) straight from college, others already serving NCOs, some who have worked in the private sector, some are citizen Soldiers,” Bushnell said.

“Regardless of where they came from they all felt the calling to be part of something greater — warriors, selfless servants of our nation, members of the profession of arms and leaders of character. They represent the greatness of our nation.”

Bushnell’s next assignment is as deputy commander of the 4th Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, at Fort Carson, Colo.