La. National Guard 165th Combat Sustainment Support Battalion welcomes new command team
By Staff Sgt. David C. Kirtland, Louisiana National Guard Public Affairs Office
NEW ORLEANS- The Louisiana National Guard’s 165th Combat Support Sustainment Battalion welcomed Lt. Col. Brian J. Lagarde as its new commander during an official change of command and transfer of responsibility ceremony at LANG Training Center Pineville, Nov. 3.
Lagarde, a native of Metairie, Louisiana, who now lives in Madisonville, assumed command from Lt. Col. Noel Collins, a Leesville resident who had served as commander since December 2021.
“To Lt. Col. Collins, I don’t think I can adequately convey my gratitude for the courtesy and professionalism you extended to me,” said Lagarde. “My challenge to you, 165th: We are a big, busy battalion with a big mission. I’ve seen the 165th execute the mission well on short notice and under adverse conditions because you know your job well. I’m challenging you to improve our position; don’t become complacent, and don’t rest on your laurels.”
Lagarde enlisted in the LANG’s Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 1-244th Aviation Battalion, as a signal support specialist in 1996. In 2001, he earned his commission through the Louisiana State University ROTC program as a transportation officer. His awards include the Meritorious Service Medal, Army Commendation Medal, Army Achievement Medal, Operation Iraqi Freedom Medal, Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary and Service Medals, Combat Action Badge, Army Aviator Badge, Louisiana Legion of Merit, Louisiana War Cross and Louisiana Emergency Service Ribbon.
Maj. Gen. Thomas C. Friloux, adjutant general of Louisiana, signaled the transfer of leadership by receiving the organizational colors from Collins and presenting them to Lagarde.
Friloux praised Collins for the 165th‘s accomplishments during her leadership and spoke highly of Lagarde’s prior assignments and his confidence in him as he embarked on the new command.
“Noel, congratulations on a successful command and job well done. You achieved a lot of great things, including successfully responding to Hurricane Francine. Our number one mission is that we can’t fail, and your unit, under your leadership, did an outstanding job at commodities distribution,” said Friloux, addressing both the outgoing and incoming commanders. “Brian, you’ve had all the right positions, the education and experience to do this job. You are 100% up to the task.”
Friloux awarded Collins, the current director of public affairs for the LANG, the Meritorious Service Medal in recognition of her dedicated service to the 165th.
“The strength of the 165th is with its people. We’ve maintained not only a high end strength but also an unusually high retention rate at 86% and 90% the last two years,” said Collins in her farewell address to the unit. “Our Soldiers solve problems and know that good attitudes go a long way. Problem solving is what a good logistics Soldier does, and helping others is why we serve. So many of our Soldiers want to be here and do good things, and I loved every minute of being in command of the 165th.”
During the ceremony, Command Sgt. Maj. Christopher Lemaire passed responsibility of the 165th to Command Sgt. Maj. Kevin Giroir, symbolizing the transfer of leadership from one senior noncommissioned officer to another in the military tradition of passing the colors.
Giroir, who enlisted in the LANG in 1987, graduated on the Commandant’s List from the U.S. Army Sergeants Major Academy in 2020 and earned a Bachelor of Science in marketing from the University of New Orleans.
Headquarters and Headquarters Company of the 165th was mobilized in 2008 to support Operation Iraqi Freedom and in 2017 to support Operation Freedom’s Sentinel (Afghanistan), and units of the 165th have contributed to overseas combat missions in Kuwait, Iraq, and Afghanistan. In 2020, while supporting the statewide COVID-19 pandemic response, the 165th also responded to several tropical storms and hurricanes, including Hurricanes Laura, Marco, Sally, Zeta, and Delta. The unit continued its support in 2021, providing commodities distribution following Hurricane Ida, which devastated large portions of the State.