On Saturday, May 19, the Alabama Army National Guard’s 115th Expeditionary Signal Battalion successfully completed a nine-month deployment in support of Operation Spartan Shield and was replaced by the New York Army National Guard’s 101st Expeditionary Signal Battalion out of Yonkers, NY.
The ceremony, called “Relief In Place, Transfer Of Authority” or RIP/TOA, featured guest speaker COL Kevin Griggs, the Commander of the 160th Signal Brigade, the 101’s immediate higher authority for the deployment. With both Battalions side by side, each commander addressed the mass formation from a stage flanked by the flags of every US state and territory. The feature of the ceremony is the casing of the 115th’s colors for the journey home, and the uncasing of the colors of the 101st as they assume the roles and responsibilities of their predecessors for the next nine months in support of Operation Spartan Shield.
