OFFUTT AIR FORCE BASE, Neb. -- U.S. Army Col. Jeffery M. Ruchie assumed command of the U.S. Strategic Command Army Reserve Element from U.S. Army Lt. Col. Michael D. Poss during a change of command ceremony at the U.S. Strategic Command headquarters missile deck, July 1.

U.S. Army Maj. Gen. Daniel L. York, 76th Operational Response Command commander, presided over the ceremony, during which he praised the leadership qualities of both officers and expressed his confidence in Ruchie as the new ARE commander.

"You've got this," York said. "This [unit] is yours, and I know that you will do a great job!"

During his first speech as the ARE commander, Ruchie thanked York and USSTRATCOM senior leaders for demonstrating their belief in him as a soldier, leader and commander before addressing the men and women now under his command. 

"Thank you to the USSTRATCOM soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines I'll be serving with," he said. "My leadership philosophy is very simple, mission, men, me... mission first, troops and our families always."

York also thanked Poss for his accomplishments as commander of the ARE, describing him as a "tremendous visionary" who cares about the people under his command. He compared Poss to U.S. Army Maj. Gen. (ret.) T.K. Moffitt, the leader which York admires the most from his military experience.

"You can count on his conduct to be the best," York said about Poss. "He brings out the best in others." 

Poss said commanding in a joint environment was "very rewarding" and congratulated the soldiers with whom he worked.

"As a team, we set goals for readiness, training and mission support," he said. "And [we] exceeded those expectations.

"The soldiers in my unit have been among the best that I have served with during my 28-year military career," he added.

The USSTRATCOM Army Reserve Element provides highly-trained and mission-ready Army Reserve Soldiers to support the full spectrum of operations conducted by USSTRATCOM, joint functional component commands and service/functional components. These soldiers are subject matter experts in a variety of areas within USSTRATCOM's diverse mission sets who support the commander's requirements on a worldwide basis during steady-state operations, exercises and national crises.

USSTRATCOM is one of nine DoD unified combatant commands and is charged with strategic deterrence; space operations; cyberspace operations; joint electronic warfare; global strike; missile defense; intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance; combating weapons of mass destruction; and analysis and targeting.