Email   Print   Share By Sgt. Richard Wrigley, 1st ACB, 1st Cav. Div. Public Affairs

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Col. John Novalis II, 1st ACB commander, and Command Sgt. Maj. Glen Vela, the brigade’s senior enlisted advisor, case the brigade’s colors at Camp Marmal, Afghanistan May 24. Sgt. Richard Wrigley, 1st ACB, 1st Cav. Div. Public Affairs

Col. John Novalis II, 1st ACB, 1st Cav. Div. commander, addresses Soldiers of his brigade and the 12th CAB, as well as other coalition and Afghan army members, at Camp Marmal, Afghanistan May 24. Sgt. Richard Wrigley, 1st ACB, 1st Cav. Div. Public Affairs

CAMP MARMAL, Afghanistan - The 1st Air Cavalry Brigade’s colors were cased and the 12th Combat Aviation Brigade’s colors were unveiled, marking the official transfer of authority within Regional Command-North of the aviation mission here May 24.

As Afghan Army and coalition partners looked on, Soldiers of the 1st ACB and the 12th CAB commemorated the completion of their TOA during a symbolic ceremony. The event not only represented the change of responsibilities of the two units, but also gave time for reflection on the past year and successes of the 1st ACB.

The 1st ACB has accomplished much over the course of its tour Col. John Novalis II, commander, 1st ACB, said.

The 1st ACB oversaw the successful deployment of five separate task forces, spread out across the battlefield in four of the six regional commands, hitting numerous milestones to include flying approximately 65,000 combat flight hours and pumping more than 18 million gallons of fuel, Novalis said.

“These are just numbers though,” Novalis said. “The story these numbers tell is the continuous support we were able to provide to the ground-force commanders, engaging the enemy, moving Soldiers and supplies across the battlefield, our ability to support the ground-force commander in his mission set was our greatest accomplishment, and the Soldiers of the 1st ACB made that possible.”

The two-fold message of the day focused on the mission accomplishment of the 1st ACB and its successful NATO partnership and coalition teamwork, German Maj. Gen. Erich Pfeffer, commander for the International Security Assistance Force, Regional Command-North, said.

“We are here to pay tribute to the accomplishments of the 1st ACB, say our farewells to our friends, and welcome our new comrades from 12th CAB,” Pfeffer said. “Together, (the coalition forces) have come this far as members of one team and with the help of 12th CAB we will carry on with the mission.”

The incoming commander, Col. Jay Voorhees, assured the members

of the various coalition forces in attendance, as well as the members of the Afghan army that, “the

12th CAB looks forward to continued teamwork, friendship, partnership, cooperation and seamless support to all. It is an honor to be part of this team.”

“I can honestly say, though we may speak a collection of languages and our uniforms may be different, the Soldiers are the same,” Novalis said of the yearlong deployment to Afghanistan. “They are a collection of individuals who stand for all that is good and right in our world, men and women who live the virtues of courage, patriotism and honor. They are simply the best. I and the 1st ACB are proud to have stood in their ranks.”