New group/unit commanders for SDDC.

Lt. Col. Dave Mead likes change. That's one reason he said he is thrilled with his new command in the Military Surface Deployment and Distribution Command.

The whole Army is changing, and SDDC is in the middle of it," Mead said. "I'm not afraid of change; I am a problem solver, so I feel like I'm in the fight place at the right time."

Mead, who in August became commander of the 1179th Deployment Support Brigade, Fort Hamilton, N.Y., is one of nine new active and reserve officers who are taking charge of SDDC units. To help learn the SDDC ropes, the officers attended SDDC's annual Precommand Course held Feb. 7-18 at Fort Lee, Va. at the command's Operations Center at Fort Eustis, Va.

"It's an exciting time to become part of SDDC," Mead said.

"The focus of the Deployment Support Brigades is changing from working railheads and airfields to enabling deployment from the fort to the theater using data entry and information management," he said. "The Precommand Course, among other things, is helping me learn about the technology that will enable me to do my mission."

Lt. Col. Mike Sayers, who has served with the 7th Transportation Group, Fort Eustis, said he requested an SDDC assignment so he could explore the world of strategic transportation. He said the course was a valuable introduction to the command climate.

"I had the opportunity to interact with different staff members and meet some key individuals that I will be working with several thousand miles away," Sayers said.

Taking command of the 1173rd Transportation Terminal Battalion, Brockton, Mass., is Lt. Col. Chris Corkery. The reserve officer came to the course from Tikrit, Iraq, where he synchronized convoy missions as the operations officer for a corps support group. His "cavalry upbringing" should help him in his new command, Corkery said.

"The closest I'd ever come to SDDC was going through a port myself," he said. "But I understand the combined arms approach, so I think I'll be better able to support the infantry, armor, aviation, engineer, military police and other units rolling through the port."

All of the officers came to the course ready to learn, said Carol Mayo who set up the training.

"They were enthusiastic and asked the presenters a lot of intelligent questions," Mayo said. "It was rewarding for me because they really tried to get as much out of the course as possible," said Mayo.

The precourse work forced Lt. Col. John Hanson to reorient and reacquaint himself with SDDC doctrine. The future commander of the 838th Transportation Terminal Battalion said he's happy to return to Rotterdam, the Netherlands, and the unit where he'd served years before.

"There's a lot of cargo moving in northern and southern Europe in support of the global war on terrorism while simultaneously we're transforming U.S. Army Europe division and corps headquarters," Hanson said. "I'm looking forward to some exciting times in Europe."

Other new commanders include Col. Kathi Kreklow, 599th Transportation Terminal Group, Schofield Barracks, Hawaii; Lt. Col. Robert Oliveras, 597th Transportation Terminal Group, Military Ocean Terminal Sunny Point, Southport, N.C.; Maj. Eugene Sullivan, 839th Transportation Terminal Battalion, Livorno, Italy; Maj. Paul McInnis, 841st Transportation Terminal Battalion, Charleston, S.C.; Lt. Col. Timothy Whalen, 842nd Transportation Terminal Battalion, Beaumont, Texas; and Lt. Col. Todd Wolfe, 835th Transportation Terminal Battalion, Okinawa, Japan.

Story and photo by Patti Bielling, Public Affairs Officer

SDDC Operations Center