By Gary Harrington
DLIFLC Public Affairs
DLIFLC Commandant, Col. David Chapman leads the way during the Commandant’s Run at the Presidio of Monterey, Wednesday Feb.18, 2015. (Photo by Gary Harrington)
MONTEREY, Calif. – The sun came out just in time to kickoff the Commandant’s at the Presidio of Monterey Feb. 18.
With more than 3,000 service members from the Army, Marine, Navy and Air Force taking part, DLIFLC Commandant, Col. David K. Chapman, led the run which began at the Price Fitness Center athletic field.
The run wound its way up and down hills and curves of the Presidio of Monterey before eventually reaching the bottom of the Presidio’s Soldier Field. Service members were in high spirit with the Presidio’s largest battalion, the 229th Military Intelligence Battalion, leading the way with cadence calls, a traditional call-and-response sung by military personnel while running or marching. The Air Force followed with the Navy and Marines bringing up the rear.
Army’s 229th winding their way through the Presidio of Monterey on Wednesday, Feb. 18, 2015. (Photo by Michael Beaton, POM Public Affairs)
Once at the bottom of the Presidio on Soldier Field, Chapman addressed the service members with a congratulatory “well done.” He told the service members that at larger installations, the Commandant’s run can consist of more than 20,000 participants, making this run look small with its 3,000 service members. Chapman pledged to host another Commandant’s Runs in July.
The Commandant then handed the stage over to Command Sgt. Maj. Matildo Coppi who laterally promoted Provost Sgt. Maj. Wyndham Fox to Command Sergeant Major. Fox served as Provost Sgt. Maj. at DLIFLC since June 2012 and headed for a new assignment to serve as Battalion Command Sergeant Major at Hunter Army Airfield, Georgia.
Command Sgt. Maj. Matildo Coppi, laterally promotes Provost Sgt. Maj. Wyndham Fox to Command Sergeant Major. (Photo by Gary Harrington)
The United States Army first established the rank of Sergeant Major during the Revolutionary War, when Baron Fredrick William von Steuben, a Prussian volunteer, spelled out the duties and instructions for the rank in his Regulations for the Order and Discipline of the Troops of the United States in 1779. The duties of the Sergeant Major included maintaining discipline, preparing rosters and details, and conducting parades. These duties have evolved for over 235 years.
