William Beaumont welcomes its new commander in a time-honored ceremony
EL PASO, Texas (KVIA) -- The change of command ceremony is a centuries-old tradition where the outgoing military commander symbolically relinquishes command and passes the division's colors, also known as the division's flag, to the new presiding officer.
Outgoing William Beaumont Army Medical Center (WBAMC) Commander Col. Brett Venable spoke about leaving his position.
"This is a very difficult day for me. It's such a great team here at William Beaumont and my family and I love living here in El Paso, so it's very difficult to leave," Venable told ABC-7.
The colors are then handed off to the incoming commander, thus beginning a new era of leadership for the division.
"So the colors are what denotes the unit and they have the unit's name and they are historical in nature, and in most units, they are taken with them wherever they go. So if they go overseas, go to war, those colors follow that commander and go with them," said incoming WBAMC Col. Lee Freeman.
"This is my first time serving in El Paso. I've never been. I've been to San Antonio before but never on this side of Texas. We really love it, my family and I love what we see so far, the community, the base. Phenomenal area," Freeman told ABC-7.
