MARINE CORPS AIR STATION IWAKUNI, japan -- Maj. Frederick L. Lewis, oncoming Headquarters and Headquarters Squadron commanding officer, took the place of Lt. Col. Michael R. Coletta, former H&HS commanding officer, during the H&HS change-of-command ceremony, which took place inside the Marine All-Weather Fighter Attack Squadron 242 hangar here June 11, 2012.
After the ceremony, Col. James C. Stewart, Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni commanding officer, took the time to praise the former H&HS leader, addressing him by his call sign.
“Joey, this celebrates your successful completion of two years of the toughest job on this installation,” said Stewart. “You got to learn a myriad of things that bases and stations have to do, day in and day out, to be ready at a moment’s notice, to switch from the daily operations, to support any exercise in any theater engagement of our (Marine Expeditionary Force), to immediately respond when Mother Nature comes calling, and you did that phenomenally well.”
Stewart touched on the intricacies of Coletta’s position as H&HS C.O. and the difficulties that came with it.
“As Headquarters and Headquarters Squadron, it is hard sometimes to define your matrix of success when literally you own every Military Occupational Specialty on the chart in the Marine Corps and about half of them in the naval service,” said Stewart. “Every one of those gentlemen and ladies wake up in the morning and has a focus and a job to complete. But it’s not like any other squadron, where it’s about production of sorties, numbers flown, tons lifted; you have to search for those metrics. And sometimes, as the H&HS C.O., you’re left to wonder, "Have I truly been successful?" So, as the previous commander and as one of your squadron mates, let me tell you that you have been absolutely successful.”
Stewart then turned to greet Lewis and his family as new additions to the MCAS Iwakuni community.
“Welcome to the family,” said Stewart. “This may be your first time in Japan, but everything that we know, every major success we’ve seen in the past, we know that together we will be even more successful as we prepare every one of the Marines and sailors to support the operational forces, to build the next generation of an installation that will provide world premier support to our operating forces. You’re exactly the right person, you have the pedigree, you have the training, you have the instinct, trust those instincts, they will see you to great success.”
Along with the change-ofcommand ceremony, Coletta was also awarded his second Meritorious Service Medal, this time for exceptional performance as the H&HS commanding officer.
“The experiences in this command over the past two years have been tremendous,” said Coletta. “I have grown and learned so much. To the Marines and sailors of H&HS, you have risen to every occasion and I thank you for doing what you do, or else this wouldn’t be possible.”
The stage was then passed to Lewis, who showed his eagerness in his new position with his addresses to all those attending the ceremony.
“Friends, family, neighbors and citizens of Japan, thank you for coming out to our change-of-command,” said Lewis. “Thank you all for volunteering to serve your country in a time of war, when the other 99.9 percent of America has not. Thank you for your service. It is an honor and a privilege to be standing up here as your commanding officer and I look forward to the next two years together. God bless America and Semper Fi.”