Facing hundreds of troops assembled in formation on the airfield and surrounded by hundreds more who came to witness history, Major General Laura L. Yeager accepted the colors of the 40th Infantry Division in a chain of command ceremony that will now go down in the annals of American history.
“Today, we are able to install in command the most well-qualified candidate chosen from the first time in history from a pool of candidates that is no longer constrained by an anachronistic and discriminatory gender-biased policy,” said Major General David Baldwin.
“This is a great day,” said Baldwin, noting that on this day, “we are putting in command the first female as a divisional commander in the history of the United States Army.”
Baldwin, who is the Chief of the California National Guard, presided over Saturday’s ceremony that was full of pomp and circumstance at the Joint Forces Training base in Los Alamitos.
Before introducing Yeager, Baldwin thanked retiring Maj. Gen. Mark Malanka for this dedication and outstanding service as Commander. “Gen. Yeager, you have a tremendous task ahead of you.”
Throughout the installation ceremony, troops engaged in a variety of traditional drills and ceremonial traditions, including converging all of the flags denoting their major excursions since 1917. The 40th Infantry Division enjoys a storied history that has seen action in World War I, World War II, the Korean War and most recently Afghanistan.
While the 40th Infantry Division goes back to 1917, the U.S. Army is one of America’s oldest institutions, founded on June 14, 1775 with George Washington, of course, as its first commander. Ironically, many of the “dress colors” on display Saturday were actually selected by Washington in 1779 (though the Army has experimented, they went back to Washington’s original picks in 2010).
In military parlance, a division is made up of a wide variety of units composed of approximately 10,000 service members, specialists in everything from logistics to artillery and includes units with every major skill required to move, sustain and fight on a field of battle anywhere in the world.
The 40th Infantry Division is made up of units throughout the west coast, Hawaii and Guam and is code named the “Sunburst Division.” The division colors (flags) stand for unity, loyalty and responsibility to the organization.
Walking out into the troops, the actual change of command occurred as retiring Maj. General Mark Malanka handed the colors to Baldwin, who then passed them to Yeager. It was at that moment that Yeager became a historical figure and assumed command of the division.
Throughout the passing of the colors, artillery officers blasted ceremonial bursts from Bravo Battery, 1st Battalion, 143rd Field Artillery Regiment’s M119 Light Howitzers to pay homage to the men and women who have served and to welcome the historic installation of the division’s first female commander. Many in the crowd came to their feet as they applauded the Army’s first female division commander accepting of the colors.
Yeager, who was elevated to Brigadier General in 2016, received her second star in a short ceremony Saturday morning before the chain of command festivities, ranking her as a Major General. Therefore, the powerful two-star red flag waved throughout, denoting the presence of a a major general officer. The flag will now follow her throughout her mission.
In an interview two days before the ceremony, Yeager told the Event-News Enterprise that it was this moment (passing of the colors) that she thought about the most before it happened. “When the colors pass hand to hand,” she said, “that will be the moment it sinks in. Now it is my responsibility to live up to everything these colors stand for.”
Yeager, a Fountain Valley native, remembers traveling to JFTB in Los Alamitos when her dad served there and it is where she began her own service in the California National Guard.
Now, she stood in front of her troops in formation as the first female commander of the 40th Infantry Division in U.S. Military history.
“It’s an absolute honor to assume command of this great division,” said Yeager. “It’s had a glorious history of service and recently affirmed its excellence with back-to-back deployments to Afghanistan,” said Yeager.
She thanked her family and her role model, her father, Maj. Gen. Robert Brandt (ret). “Having been the daughter of a National Guard soldier, I know personally how drill weekend always seems to land on a birthday, wedding, anniversary, or how the water heater quits working or how the car won’t start,” Yeager said.
Yeager also thanked everyone for coming and told her troops she was ready to accept the awesome responsibilities of command.
Sitting on specially installed bleachers in front of a huge aircraft hangar filled with Blackhawks and UH-1 helicopters, the enthusiastic crowd erupted in patriotic applause as Yeager concluded her remarks.
Shortly before the conclusion of the ceremony, two Blackhawks and a Chinook helicopter buzzed the ceremony in formation to pay tribute to Yeager’s earlier service as a helicopter pilot and her command of a special air medivac unit during the war in Iraq.
There were citizens and media from across southern California on the base to witness the historic event.
The 40th ID award winning band, provided stirring music throughout the ceremony, giving those in the crowd a rare chance to witness such a historical military event.
Following the ceremony, Yeager eagerly jumped down from the dais to greet many who witnessed the ceremony, including a group of World War II veterans including Bill Spurrier of Seal Beach.
Los Alamitos Mayor Warren Kusumoto was among the first to congratulate Yeager after the ceremony. Kusumoto along with Council members Shelley Hasselbrink, Mark Chirco and Dean Grose attended the event.
Yeager then plunged into the troops, thanking them personally for their service and even getting a demonstration of the Howitzer cannons from Bravo Battery.
Mona Mapel said she traveled from Pasadena not only because their son served as a Armored Officer in the 40th, but “it was an honor to be at what was a historic event as Maj. Gen. Yeager is the first female commander of the 40th and it is a chance for Americans to once again appreciate the men and women in uniform who serve both the nation and the state.”
It’s been an amazing day, said an unidentified woman who told Yeager she had come with her group from Fountain Valley to witness the event. “Thank you,” said Yeager as she eagerly jumped in a photo with the group. “Yes it has,” she said.
