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At 2 p.m. June 27 on Husterhoeh Kaserne in Pirmasens, Germany, Col. William M. Stubbs handed over the U.S. Army Medical Materiel Center-Europe colors and the USAMMCE mission to his successor, Col. Thomas C. Slade.
“Colonel Stubbs was an outstanding commander and with him in command, I never had to worry about USAMMCE,” said Maj. Gen. James K. Gilman, commanding general of the U.S. Army Medical Research and Materiel Command, during his speech.
He went on to say that with Slade at the helm, USAMMCE is in equally capable hands, as he knows both commanders very well — Stubbs from his time at USAMMCE and Slade, who actually worked for him at USAMRMC.
More than 200 guests and USAMMCE personnel came out to say farewell to Stubbs before he moved on to become a full time student at the U.S. Army War College in Carlisle, Pa.
In his speech, Stubbs thanked his family, friends and employees for everything and vowed to come back to Germany. He said he will miss his “hometown” of Weselberg, Germany, and all of his friends and neighbors there, as well as everyone at USAMMCE. At the end of his speech, he took a quote out of late President John F. Kennedy’s book.
“Ich bin ein Weselberger,” he said, which translates to “I am a Weselberger.” Kennedy’s actual quote was “Ich bin ein Berliner.”
As the new commander, Slade was welcomed with open arms. Although Slade has never been stationed in Germany, he knows USAMMCE from a customer’s perspective and is very excited to be the new commander of USAMMCE.
The Soldiers of the 8th Medical Logistics Company, the 212th Combat Support Hospital, the color guard from the Landstuhl Regional Medical Center, and the German soldiers of the Paratrooper Battalion 263 joined the USAMMCE Soldiers on the parade field. Music was provided by the USAREUR Army Band.
