St. Albans, W.Va. –
West Virginia Army National Guard Col. Mark B. Houck relinquished command of the Army Interagency Training and Education Center (AITEC) to Lt. Col. Gina M. Nichols during a ceremony at AITEC headquarters in St. Albans, West Virginia, Aug. 9, 2022.
West Virginia National Guard Adjutant General, Maj. Gen. William “Bill” Crane, presided over the change of leadership.
“You can’t have great leaders unless you have a great staff, a great Army, that surrounds you, that protects you, and that keeps you moving forward,” said Houck, addressing the AITEC Soldiers, Airmen and guests in attendance. “So my debt is to everyone at AITEC.”
“This is, I believe … is the best brigade in the West Virginia National Guard,” he said. “It goes by your dedication and your work. I don't know how many letters and emails I've received from across the nation about the work that you all do. And this is not a one-person team. We've done some things no one said that we could do.”
“It's not by me,” Houck said. “It's by the hard work you're doing. People want AITEC. People want West Virginia Soldiers. I greatly thank you, from the bottom of my heart, for all the hard work, all the fights, always standing there with me heel to heel.”
“My advice to you, Lt. Col. Nichols, is that you have great, great - and you know this - great Soldiers here,” he said. ” Let them surround you. They will take care of you. They're not going let you falter. They’ll give you great advice. They’ll help you push, and continue to push, to make AITEC one of the greatest units across the nation.”
Houck served at AITEC for close to six years and as commander for the last two. Nichols is returning to AITEC as commander after serving as the deputy chief of staff for the WVARNG since 2020. Nichols was previously at AITEC as commander of the Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear and high-yield Explosives (CBRNE) Battalion and 35th Civil Support Team.
“I’m very glad to be here today, this is a great moment,” Nichols said during the ceremony. “I was talking to my son Caleb and said it's a really important experience and I just can't think of the right words. Caleb looked at me and said ‘You should probably just thank everyone that got you there.’ Yes. So thankful for having him to simplify.”
“So today I would like to thank Maj. Gen. Crane for your support and your belief in me, that I can do this,” she said. “Brig. Gen. [Gene] Holt for your continued guidance and mentorship. Col. Bowen, for your friendship and mentorship. Brig. Gen. [Michael] Cadle, for your guidance going forward. I know it will be incredibly important.”
“I'd like to thank Col. Houck for his commitment and contributions to the organization, that have been great. And then lastly, to all of you, the people that make up AITEC, the family that I just can't seem to get away from.
“We truly have a unique mission set of incredible importance to this nation,” Nichols said. “I'm proud to be part of it. I'm proud to be part of this AITEC family. Thank you for welcoming me back.”