Col. Lance Oliver relinquished responsibility of the 650th Regional Support Group to Col. David Nowicki during the change of command ceremony held Aug. 15, 2021.

Brig. Gen. John M. Dreska, commanding general, 311th Expeditionary Sustainment Command, presided over the ceremony. He said, "Col. Nowicki assumes command of a line unit with an outstanding and proven history. We thank Colonel Oliver for bridging the gap between commanders. Job well done."

When Oliver addressed Nowicki during the ceremony, he said, "As you're learning, you have an excellent staff and excellent leaders throughout your formation with you and Command Sgt. Maj. Sims on board. I'm excited and grateful for the stable leadership that I envision that you both will provide to this command. The Soldiers and civilians of the 650th Regional Support Group deserve a long-serving command team that will and can provide the vision and guidance necessary to perform at the highest level. We have all the pieces here to truly Excel, and I'm sure you will."

When Nowicki addressed the 650th RSG during the ceremony, he said, "I will give you all the effort that I got early in the morning to late in the evening 650[RSG] family will be on my mind. I give my number out freely to everyone. And I'm looking forward to marching beside you."

Nowicki military career has spanned Korea, Italy, Hungary, Turkey, Minnesota, Iraq, Afghanistan, Colorado, Kansas, and Texas and has prepared for his new role. And his education from Marquette, the Naval War College, Florida Institute of Technology, the Army War College, and the Joint Forces Staff College is second to none.

The mission of the 650th RSG is to deploy to provide base operation support with responsibilities for managing facilities, providing administrative support of soldiers' services, and ensuring the security of personnel and facilities on a base camp. The RSG provides mission command of assigned units during Homeland Security, Homeland Defense, and civil support missions, including managing reception, staging, onward movement, and integration of support services. The RSG provides mission command for training, readiness, and mobilization oversight of assigned forces when not deployed.

The change of command ceremony dates to the 18th century was rooted in military tradition and filled with symbolism. Soldiers carried staff or standards into battle with color arrangements and unique symbols to identify them as a unit and show their heritage and history.