Brigadier General Henryk Skarzynski handed over all his responsibilities as Chief of Staff Multinational Corps Northeast to Brigadier General Josef Heinrichs.
On 14th December an official ceremony at the Headquarters Multinational Corps Northeast took place. Brigadier General Henryk Skarzynski handed over all his responsibilities as Chief of Staff Multinational Corps Northeast to Brigadier General Josef Heinrichs.
The members of the HQ gathered in the gym to participate in this special moment. Lieutenant General Egon Ramms, the Commander Multinational Corps Northeast opened the ceremony with a speech. In kind words the Commander listed gen. Skarzynski’s successes. During his tour of duty, the Corps passed Full Operation Capability (FOC) test, which appeared to be the first step towards the Corps’ road to Afghanistan. Apart from strictly military achievements and effective leadership, gen. Skarzynski’s personal qualities were emphasized and his involvement in social life of the Corps and contributions to the integration of nations. To support the words that have been said, the Commander decorated gen. Skarzynski with the Medal of Multinational Corps Northeast.
The central part of the ceremony was the official handover of the duties from gen. Skarzynski to gen. Josef Heinrichs. Only after that the outgoing Chief of Staff delivered his last speech, in which he thanked the staff for hard work and serious approach towards the duty. ‘Despite some critical moments and clashes in discussions, it was always possible to find productive and effective solutions and to lead the Corps to an appropriate direction’. General expressed his gratitude for the support and good cooperation and the atmosphere of the Corps.
The new Chief of Staff also had the chance to face his new subordinates. Referring to his own words, the time has started to step into big footprints left by his predecessor. He expressed his willingness to meet new challenges as Chief of Staff of Multinational Corps Northeast. Due to the fact that gen. Heinrichs has already spent some time with the Corps’ soldiers, he expressed his confidence about soldiers’ professionalism.
After the ceremony, an unofficial part of the event took place initiated by gen. Skarzynski who symbolically handed over a pen to his successor.
