A “change of command” is a process in which a military unit publicly sees its leadership change from one person to another.  The 1st Infantry Division, or “Big Red One,” recently saw a “time honored tradition” in a similar ceremony when a new division Chaplain assumed his duties.

Chaplain (Lt. Col.) Timothy Mallard, division chaplain for the 1st Inf. Div., donned the stole, which bears the names of the head chaplains for the division since the Balkans.

The changing of the stole ceremony is based on the Old Testament book Second Kings. In the story, the prophet Elijah took up the mantle which fell from the prophet Elisha as he was taken up into heaven by a chariot of fire. This mantle identified him as the new prophetic voice and spiritual leader of Israel.

The stole was placed on Chaplain Mallard’s shoulders by Maj Gen Vincent Brooks, the commander of the 1st Infantry Division.  The ceremony took place at Contingency Operating Base (COB) Basra in Iraq.