Family, friends and distinguished guests were present here on a hot Friday morning, Aug. 26, as Maj. Gen. John F. Hussey relinquished duties as the commanding general of the 200th Military Police Command, located at Fort Meade, Maryland, to Brig. Gen. Cary “Joe” Cowan Jr. during a change of command ceremony held at Sharp Field.

The 200th Military Police Command is a division-level headquarters which commands 97% of the Army Reserve military police assets and soldiers. The command was activated on April 16, 2008, after being constituted two years earlier from the 220th Military Police Brigade. It is home to approximately 14,000 soldiers who make up 4 brigades, 22 battalions and 53 companies and detachments.

The ceremony commenced with the arrival of the reviewing party which conducted an inspection of the units formed and their colors while the 78th Army Band played the traditional numbers associated with this time-honored event.

Hussey took command of the 200th on November 2, 2019. He enlisted in the Marine Corps in June 1984. He then transferred to the Army National Guard in 1986, completed the Officer Candidate School in 1988 and branched as a Military Police Officer. It wasn’t until 1997 that Hussey joined the Army Reserve, where he continued his career which culminated with his taking command of the 200th.

Some of his most notable prior assignments include serving as commander of the 306th Military Police Battalion at the Abu Ghraib prison Iraq in 2005, commander of the 3rd Brigade Civil Affairs/Psychological Operations, and the deputy commander of Joint Task Force Guantanamo, which was his last assignment before assuming command of the 200th.

Speaking in his usual off-the-cuff manner, Hussey began by thanking his wife Janice for all she did for him and his family, as he dealt with death in his family in the past year, while not slowing down on mission requirements. He asked the audience to give a round of applause in appreciation of all spouses for what they do. He then talked about his time in command and listed some of the missions and training events that units in the 200th are participating in here in the United States and abroad. “Anywhere you go, the 200th MP Command is on the map to go,” he said.

Hussey then talked about his vision for the command in the future, and how the staff accepted his challenge to envision the command’s role in future operations, developing plans, creating information products and executing training events for detention and dislocated civilian operations, the latter which was just concluded a few days ago.

“I have really tasked this staff, and I want to congratulate you for standing up to it,” Hussey said. “Sometimes you get that look like ‘Why-do-we-have-to-do- this,’ but I never got that from any of you.”

He also thanked some of the guests in the audience who had guided him as mentors, and others with whom he had worked in some key assignments during his Army Reserve career.

Finally, he welcomed Cowan and his family to his new assignment. “I leave you with a great enterprise, and you know that because you helped build it,” Hussey said. He expressed confidence in the incoming command team as well. Hussey signed off one last time with his signature “Justice Six, Out!”

Maj. Gen. Gregory Mosser, Deputy Commanding General United States Army Reserve Command, presided over the ceremony, accepting the colors from Hussey as he relinquished command and handed them to Cowan, symbolizing the transfer of authority. In his remarks, Mosser ran through the litany of Hussey’s academic and professional accomplishments in a career that spanned four decades, taking special note of his five master’s degrees, doctoral degree and numerous published papers and dissertations on detention operations.

“Saying that John is educated is like saying Wyatt Earp participated in a few law enforcement actions in the 1880s,” Mosser said. “The unit’s success had a great deal to do with Hussey’s leadership and his high standards.”

Mosser noted that all three of Hussey’s children had followed in their father’s footsteps by entering service-oriented careers, with two currently serving in the military. He then thanked Mrs. Janice Hussey for excelling as a soldier’s spouse, noting that it was one of the most difficult assignments in the Army.

Mosser then welcomed Cowan and his family to his new role as the commander of the 200th. “With all your experience and this great group of boosters, we all you’ll continue to uphold the tenets of the 200th motto, commanding the best,” he added.

Mosser closed out his remarks by thanking Hussey for his service on behalf of a grateful Army and nation.

Last to speak was the new commander of the 200th. Cowan praised Hussey for pushing the command to new heights while also providing a vision for the command. “For myself, working for Maj. Gen. Hussey the last few years has afforded me a graduate-level learning opportunity, one anchored in the Army values and the desire to be better every day,” he said. To the soldiers now under his charge, Cowan said that the command will continue to train, prepare and continue to follow the vision laid out by Hussey.

Cowan has made successful careers out of law enforcement in both the military and civilian, as he serves in Jacksonville, Florida where he resides.

"TRAIN TO FIGHT! COMMANDING THE BEST!"