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Change of Command ceremony for Charlie Company

Cpt. Carneen Cotton (left) shaking hands with Capt. Timothy Shea
reporters@samoanews.com

Pago Pago, AMERICAN SAMOA — Capt. Timothy takes over the Commander post for Charlie Company, 100th Battalion, 442nd Infantry Regiment from Cpt. Carneen Cotton, who is the first female infantry company commander in the US Army Reserve.

In her farewell speech, Cotton said, “I took on the challenge” of commander with three simple goals: be a leader, train soldiers, and make a difference.”

“As a leader, whether military or civilian, one must take care of their soldiers and employees,” said Cotton, who enlisted in the Army Reserve in 2009. “So I looked for opportunities to make a difference and improve the experiences for the Reserve soldiers serving in American Samoa.” (Click on attachment below for Cotton's complete farewell speech).

In his brief remarks as new commander, Shea thanked Lt. Col. Matthew Cloud — who is the Regiment Commander — “for allowing me to take this company towards their next objective and their next success.”

"To the Soldiers of Charlie Company; [you] look magnificent. I want to thank you all for the hard work that you've already put in, and for the hard work that you will continue to do. The coming year will be busy and full of challenges, but I've already seen what you all can do, and working together I have no doubt we will accomplish our mission,” said Shea, who began his military career in 2009, but left active duty service in January 2014 to pursue his master’s degree in economics at the University of Texas at Austin. He resumed his military career in June 2017.

Samoa News notes that Charlie Company was established at the local Army Reserve by current Lt. Gov. Lemanu Sialega Mauga, during his time in the military.