FORT INDIANTOWN GAP, Pa. –
After serving as the executive officer of the 28th Expeditionary Combat Aviation Brigade during their deployment to the Middle East, Lt. Col. Michael Girvin took command of the brigade during a change of command ceremony at Muir Army Airfield here, Nov. 6, 2021.
A change of command ceremony is a centuries-old tradition that represents the formal transfer of responsibility from one commanding officer to another.
Family, friends and fellow Soldiers joined the 28th ECAB in bidding farewell to outgoing commander Col. Howard Lloyd and welcoming Girvin as the new brigade commander. Maj. Gen. Mark McCormack, commander of the 28th Infantry Division, presided over the ceremony.
“It’s a great opportunity that I don’t take lightly, to take command of such a fine organization made up of some of the best Iron Soldiers in the state,” said Girvin.
Lloyd is retiring after nearly 40 years in the military. He began his military career in 1982 when he enlisted in the U.S. Navy and served as an aviation machinist mate. He joined the Pennsylvania Army National Guard in 1989 and attended Officer Candidate School. He has logged more than 2700 hours as a helicopter pilot.
“I was so very fortunate to be the commander of the men and women of the 28th ECAB,” said Lloyd. “These 28th Soldiers demonstrated the passion, the desire and the motivation required from a combat aviation brigade.”