Lt.
Gen. John R. Vines uncases the XVIII Airborne Corps
colors during a Tranfer of Authority ceremony from III
Corps at Al-Faw Palace, Camp Victory, Iraq, Feb. 10.
Sgt. Mark St.Clair
By Sgt.
David Foley
February 11, 2005
CAMP VICTORY,
Iraq, (Army News Service, Feb. 11, 2005) -- Lt. Gen. John
R. Vines of XVIII Airborne Corps and Fort Bragg, N.C., took
command of Multi-National Corps-Iraq Feb. 10 in a transfer
of authority ceremony Feb. 10 at Camp Victory’s Al-Faw Palace
near Baghdad.
Outgoing
MNC-I Commander Lt. Gen. Thomas Metz and his III Corps troops
will return to Fort Hood, Texas.
In another
Transfer of Authority ceremony a day earlier at Camp Victory,
III Corps Artillery of Fort Sill, Okla., and 3rd Expeditionary
Air Support Operations Group from Fort Hood handed over their
role in the Joint Fires and Effect Team to the XVIII Airborne
Corps Artillery of Fort Bragg and 18th Air Support Operations
Group from Pope Air Force Base, N.C.
February
11, 2005
Brig. Gen. Richard P. Formica, III Corps Artillery Commander,
Fort Sill, Okla., in a Transfer of Authority ceremony
at Camp Victory, Iraq, Feb. 9, relinquishes charge of
the MNC-I Joint Fires and Effects team to the XVIII
Airborne Corps, Fort Bragg, N.C.
Vines
and the XVIII Airborne Corps have been working with Metz and
III Corps for the past few weeks preparing for the transition,
and both teams agree it has gone smoothly.
Gen. George
Casey, Multi-National Force-Iraq commander, also attended
the ceremony and said, “There is never a good time to make
a change of this magnitude, but right on the tail of a watershed
historical event, is not a bad time either.
“This
transfer of authority is the first in a year of critical transitions
for Iraq,” he said.
Other
transfers will include the transfer from the interim Iraqi
government to the Iraqi transitional government, the drafting
and adopting of an Iraqi Constitution and the elections of
an Iraqi government, which will take place at the end of 2005.
The year
will also see the transfer of the counter-insurgency campaign
to Iraqi security forces, who have been preparing to become
more independent in fighting the anti-Iraqi forces.
“Now let
there be no mistake about it, each of these transitions and
the coalition’s role in them is singularly focused on helping
Iraq secure the liberty it gained on the 28th of June and
that it cemented on the 30th of January,” Casey said.
“All of
these transitions will be in some way dependant upon the great
XVIII Airborne Corps team that General Vines has built,” he
said. “We welcome the Corps and it’s associated units, and
we wish them all the best in the year ahead. The future of
Iraq and America’s significant national interests here rest
squarely with J.R. Vines and his team. And I am confident
they are up to the task.”
Casey
said part of what gives him so much confidence in the XVIII
Airborne Corps is what he has seen III Corps accomplish in
the last year.
“Members
of the Phantom Corps, you have made and incredible difference
here in Iraq over the past year, and it culminated in the
elections on the 30th of January.”
While
passing the torch to Vines, Metz said he is proud of the job
his Soldiers did in Iraq and he has confidence the XVII Airborne
Corps will continue the mission successfully.
Metz said
he is departing with more confidence than ever that a “free
prosperous Iraq that lives by the rule of law and does not
harbor terrorists” is in the very near future.
“There
are few people wearing the uniform who have personally done
more for the Global War on Terrorism than you,” Metz said
to Vines, “and there is no other commander to whom I would
rather have given the colors to.”
“Thank
you for the truly superbly prepared troops,” he said to Vines.
“They are truly focused and ready. And thanks ahead of time
for the successes you will have in Operation Iraqi Freedom.”
Vines
said he has been watching with professional admiration as
III Corps and coalition forces battled their way toward a
free Iraq and said the mission was a “masterpiece of tactical
excellence.”
“I watched
General Tom Metz, who was an absolute textbook example of
leadership under pressure,” he said. “He never lost sight
of his objective, which was to give the citizens of Iraq the
opportunity to choose their own destiny and it was absolutely
brilliant.
“As General
Metz, the Phantom Corps and other members of the great coalition
--represented by many nations and all our services who passed
those colors tonight -- head back to your home countries for
a well-deserved rest, go with the knowledge that you have
done something great and noble,” Vines said. “Go with the
knowledge that the citizens of Iraq admire and appreciate
what you have done for them. And on behalf of the coalition
and the citizens of their nations, I say ‘Thank you. Well
done.’”
(Editor’s
note: Sgt. David Foley serves with MNC-I Public Affairs. Spc.
Jeremy D. Crisp of MNC-I PAO also contributed to this article.)
