Lt. Col. Bryan P. Radliff passes the baton to Lt. Col. Richard R. Rouleau.
View full sizeFrom left, Lt. Col. Bryan Radliff, Col. Frank Hall and Lt. Col. Richard Rouleau review the troops of the Army's Syracuse Recruiting Battalion during a change of command ceremony at the War Memorial. Radliff is the outgoing commander, Hall is the brigade commander and Rouleau is the incoming commander.Syracuse, NY – Amid ranks of all-in-one-clad soldiers and with an audience of about 150 friends, family members and community leaders watching, command of the Syracuse Army Recruiting Battalion passed this morning from Lt. Col. Bryan P. Radliff to Lt. Col. Richard R. Rouleau.
The rite was supposed to take place under the shadow of the Soldiers and Sailors Monument in Clinton Square. Rain forced it instead under the roof of the Onondaga County War Memorial.
The 45-minute ceremony opened shortly after 11 a.m. as Mayor Stephanie Miner led a contingent of civilian officials to a black-draped table, trimmed with gold braid. There they signed the Army Community Covenant. The document pledges the community to building partnerships to support soldiers and their families and to honor veterans.
More than 235 of the battalion’s 700 members stood at attention as Radliff passed the battalion flag to his commander, Col. Frank R. Hall, who in turn presented it to Rouleau. The 10th Mountain Division Band played the National Anthem and accompanied the soldiers in a rendition of "The Army Song."
Since Radliff assumed command in 2008, the Syracuse brigade recruited 2,700 men and women into the Army and 800 into the Reserve, an announcer told the crowd. The Syracuse-based battalion oversees companies based here and in Buffalo, Rochester, Olean, Fort Drum and in Wilkes Barre, Pa.
Radliff set high standards and worked tirelessly to provide the resources the unit needed to recruit the equivalent of a brigade combat team, Hall said.
Rouleau “is a team builder and a trainer second to none,” Hall told the troops.
Radliff is leaving to become deputy commander of the 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment, based at Fort Hood, Texas. He is expected to deploy for his third tour in Iraq next month. His wife, Estelle, and their three children will remain in the home the family bought in the Syracuse area, he said.
Rouleau comes to the battalion from Alexandria, Va., where he was the chief of the Armor Enlisted Branch, Army Human Resources Command.