Ceremony at Ephrata Armory signals change of command

EPHRATA — Golf Company, the Ephrata unit of the Washington Army National Guard, received a new commander in a ceremony Saturday morning that included a literal handing over of the unit emblem

Captain Georgia Lamb assumed command from Capt. Charles Barnett and Sgt. 1st Class Michael Camp assumed responsibility for the company from 1st Sgt. Fernando Garcia.

Golf Company is a logistics unit, and the 1-161st Infantry Battalion commander Lt. Col. Nick Stuart (of which the company is part) had a story about its incoming commander.

Stuart was part of a training exercise, and the logistics component was not working as it should. The logistics commander saw little reason for change, but others did, Stuart said, and a change was made that day.

“Later that day, Georgia Lamb, First Lieutenant, showed up out on the field in the position of task force logistics officer. And from that moment forward, it got better every single day,” Stuart said. “Their logistic capabilities, their planning and their execution grew immensely.”

From the US Army standpoint, logistics is the task of supplying soldiers in the field with what they need, Lamb said, from ammunition to food and water.

“I’ve been in the logistics realm my whole Army career, and I’ve been in an organization like this, but doing a much smaller role,” she said. “This is the first time where I would oversee a whole unit.

“It’s very exciting. But it’s nerve-racking too, because it’s a lot of pressure,” she said.

In her day job Lamb is an outreach coordinator for the Omak Police Department, a demanding job in its own right. Brigadier General Paul Sellars, commanding general for the Washington Army National Guard, “and I also just happen to be Cap. Lamb’s uncle,” said the Guard provides opportunities for leadership training that are useful in civilian as well as military careers.

“Taking a command is a very heavy responsibility, but it’s also a great opportunity to develop your own leadership at this level,” Sellars said. “Because each one of these folks eventually is going to get to the next level (of command), and you need to have those experiences here to perform better at the next level. So it’s all one big, long leadership development opportunity.”

Garcia said the sergeant’s job, in part, is to look after the interests of the soldiers in the unit.

“I’m responsible for the welfare of all our soldiers within the organization. I was the senior person in the unit,” he said. “So as the senior enlisted I was their voice to our command, our battalion commander.”

Garcia got a little choked up as he said goodbye to Golf Company.

“You guys have been amazing,” he said. “Some of my best times in the Army have been here.”

Garcia was not a logistics specialist, and he learned a lot from the unit, he said.

“Keep doing what you guys are doing,” he said. “I’m really heartbroken to leave you guys.”

Barnett was in command of the unit for about two years, and also paid tribute to Golf Company.

“I’ve learned so much from each and every one of you, about leadership, about perseverance. Thank you very much for the opportunity to lead you,” Barnett said. “I just want to thank you for your hard work. It does not go unnoticed, and you guys did an absolutely outstanding job in the last two years. It's been a privilege to serve alongside such excellent soldiers. I know that you only get better each day.”

Camp said he has been with the unit for about two years, and said his experience with its soldiers made him confident for the future.

“You guys are some of the hardest-working men and ladies that I’ve worked with in my entire time (in the service),” Camp said. “We’re going to go far. We’re going to do things. We have the mission first, and we’re going to be successful.”

The unit will be involved in major training exercises over the next couple of years, and Lamb said that will present challenges — but challenges the unit can overcome.

“I’m really looking forward to the next couple of years,” she said. “We have a lot of work ahead of us.”