FORT SHAFTER FLATS, Hawaii –
Among a limited crowd of former commanders of the 100th Battalion, 442nd Infantry Regiment, and senior civilian leaders of the 9th Mission Support Command (MSC), the famed "Go for Broke" changed commands from Maj. Benjamin Bloomstrom to Lt. Col Alan Perkins in an official ceremony Friday, Oct. 15, here.
“The Soldiers in this battalion are among the best I’ve served throughout my military career,” said Bloomstrom. “The legacy of the 100th Battalion is such that few other Soldiers understand what it is like to carry the torch and the legacy of service of a unit such as this. It has been an honor to carry on this legacy and lead these Soldiers as its commander.”
For Perkins, the he sees future success for the 100th Battalion in executing three lines of effort.
“We are second to none, we overmatch our adversaries and competitors. We achieve this through three lines of effort: we will be fit, we will be trained and we will be disciplined. When those three lines converge we will be triumphant over any adversary,” said Perkins.
Lt. Col (P) Mark W. Siekman, the commander of the 9th Mission Support Command presided over the ceremony.
“The history of the 100th Battalion is that of the most awarded unit in U.S. Army history,” said Siekman. “The continued success of this unit is important not only to the 9th MSC, or the U.S. Army Reserve, but to the Army as a whole and I know this unit is in good hands with its new commander, Lt. Col. Perkins.”