On November 2, 2023, White Sands Missile Range held a Change of Command ceremony at the Organ Mountains Parade Field, where guests bid farewell to Brig. Gen. Eric D. Little as he relinquished command to Col. George C. Turner Jr., the new commander.
During the cool morning, Maj. Gen. James Galivan, the Commander of the Army Test and Evaluation Command, welcomed guests and employees to the ceremony. He appreciated the picturesque mountains and the serene ambiance of the surroundings. He encouraged everyone to take a moment to breathe and enjoy the scenery, weather, and company.
"Today, we witness the transfer of authority of United States Army White Sands Missile Range into the hands of George Turner, and we bid farewell and celebrate the accomplishments of Eric Little and the team while Eric was in command here," said Galivan.
"The passing of the colors, for those that are new, is a symbolic aspect of the ceremony. It symbolizes the relinquishment of the command from one leader to another. This is a time-honored tradition in the military. It allows us to reflect not on the leader, but on the organization's past accomplishments and look to the future in anticipation of the organization's great achievements yet to come."
Little's leadership enabled the development, training, and leadership of the Army and Joint Force at White Sands Missile Range.
Galivan continued, "since May of 2021, Eric has served as the WSMR Commander as well as the ATEC's Deputy Commanding General for Developmental Testing."
Little was responsible for leading a joint team comprising several resident units and an organization of over 6,000 service members, civilians, contractors, and family members, Galivan explained. He commanded the largest military installation in the Lower 48, which enabled experimentation, developmental testing, operational testing, and training for many of the services.
"As we bid farewell to Eric and his family, we are excited to welcome George to the ATEC family and the WSMR community," said Galivan.
"Col. Turner comes to ATEC and WSMR with a diverse background that includes service at the small unit level, the deployable division level, the Army service component command, the combatant command and the department of the Army levels," said Galivan. "He understands the needs of the user community, he understands the service perspective, and he understands how the Army contributes to the combined joint force."
"George, your experience speaks volumes, and we are thrilled to welcome you to WSMR, ATEC, and this world-class community; I promise you will fall in love with the people of Las Cruces and El Paso, and it will change your life forever in a better way," Galivan told Turner.
Little started his speech by sharing an interesting fact with the audience. He mentioned that he commanded White Sands Missile Range for two and a half years, the longest since Brig. Gen. Jerry L. Laws commanded the range from June 1994 to April 1998.
As the commander of White Sands Missile Range and ATEC's Deputy Commanding General for Developmental Testing, Little had many people to thank for his position. His list of thanks included his Command Team, the WSMR Garrison team, the White Sands Test Center, ATEC's Test and Evaluation locations, WSMR Tenants and Units.
"To Col. George Turner, who I have known for about seven years. We served together at USARPAC, great man, but George, congratulations to you," said Little. "You are going to do great things here. I am honored to hand the colors to you. Throughout our transition, I have seen fresh ideas, I've seen energy and initiative that is needed to keep this organization and this installation moving forward. Without question, you're the right leader at the right time. I look forward to keeping in touch with you."
Little ended his message to the White Sands community by referencing the WSMR emblem or logo to connect the past, present, and future. He encouraged the community to reflect on the range's history and significance and consider where it's headed.
Little explained that the White Sands Missile Range emblem reflects the significant accomplishments of the organization. The stars on the emblem represent the Manhattan Project that made White Sands famous. Additionally, WSMR was responsible for launching the first rocket that left the earth's atmosphere – the V-2 rocket, symbolized by a rocket orbiting around a star on the emblem. The star in the center of the emblem signifies the birthplace of America's missile and space activity.
"We as a workforce, as an Army, and as a joint force cannot rest on our laurels, cannot rest on all of those firsts that are behind us."
Little further explained, "look at the technology, both present and in the future, weapons that can go farther and faster than anything we have ever seen. Hypersonic weapons, directed energy, artificial intelligence, now combine that with the future operating environment that our warfighters are going to face against peer adversaries."
Little emphasized that the environment we will be operating in will be highly complex and competitive, making it challenging for us to effectively shoot, move, and communicate. To achieve our desired goals at the right time and place, we must use all available resources and domains.
Little left the audience with a question that the DoD is currently facing: How and where can we replicate an operationally realistic environment that warfighters will face in crisis and conflict?
The short answer is White Sands Missile Range. "Simply put, we can do things on this range to support the future operating environment that cannot be done anywhere else."
Addressing the White Sands Missile Range community for the first time, Turner expressed how it was another great day to be an American soldier. He then shared his pride in serving as the 38th Commander of White Sands Missile Range, as well as the Deputy Commander for Developmental Testing for the Army Test and Evaluation Command.
"I look forward to leading this great team alongside Command Sgt. Maj. Mike Cordery and Mr. Vincent Liddiard as we do great work to increase our warfighting capabilities and capacities for Army 2030 and Army 2040," said Turner.
Turner also thanked Little for his excellent leadership, "you have successfully added to the strong foundation that was laid here in 1945. I wish you and your family the very best at Space Command."
Turner thanked his family for their love and support and concluded, "at this moment, let it be known across the enterprise the future of developmental testing is bright and without limits. Truth in testing. Be all you can be."
