U.S. Army Brig. Gen. Laura L. Clellan, assistant adjutant general, Army, commander of the Colorado Army National Guard, passed the colors to U.S. Army Brig. Gen. Douglas A. Paul Oct. 19, 2019, during a change of command ceremony at Founders Field, Fort Carson, Colorado.
The Adjutant General of Colorado U.S. Air Force Maj. Gen. Michael A. Loh, commander of the Colorado National Guard, served as the presiding officer for the ceremony.
“Today we honor two valued and trusted warriors, leaders of our organization,” Loh said. “We bid farewell to Brigadier General Laura Clellan as she retires from a remarkable 30-year career of service to our nation … These two are truly amazing leaders and warriors.”
Paul enlisted in the military in January 1989, has served in the CONG since 1993, and has held various positions including deputy commander, Special Operations Detachment Korea for the COARNG; operations officer for Special Operations Command - North; and commander of the 5th Battalion, 19th Special Forces Group (Airborne).
“I have full confidence in trusting the future of the Colorado Army National Guard to General Paul,” Loh said. “Your trust is the greatest thing you can offer a leader. I wholeheartedly believe that placing your trust in General Paul will return great rewards for you, your family, our organization, state and nation.”
Paul brings a wealth of knowledge to the position, and his experiences will be critical to future mission success, Loh said.
Paul expressed his gratitude to past leaders in the same position for their mentorship and showing what perseverance can accomplish and for Clellan’s focus on building leaders of character.
“You’ve led each of our service members with dignity and respect and your efforts improved our force, and it will be carried on,” Paul said. “You have left a lasting legacy and its truly an honor for me to succeed you.”
TAG highlighted Clellan’s and Paul’s exceptional backgrounds and why he chose them.
“Laura, from the moment I selected you to serve as the assistant adjutant general to command Colorado’s Army National Guard, you raised the bar and furthered the readiness of this world-class organization,” Loh said. “It was about readiness, partnerships and people, and you excelled. You also lifted up our personnel readiness and championed joint diversity and inclusion – a strength of the Guard. More importantly you fostered a climate and established a culture of inclusion that promotes awareness and enhances mission readiness across the force.”
Clellan saw the COARNG through many deployments, redeployments, state missions and natural disasters.
While Clellan said the past few years have flown by, she added, “I feel so fortunate to have served with such an amazing group of Citizen-Soldiers. I’m so inspired by what our Soldiers of the Colorado Army National Guard do.”
Clellan has served as the AAG-Army since October 2017. She began her military career in July 1989 and has accomplished many assignments, such as land component commander for the COARNG, commander of the 168th Regional Training Institute, executive officer of the 89th Troop Command, and many more.
“The men and women standing before you are the best the nation has, and we hear it everywhere they go,” Clellan said. “The Colorado Army National Guard sets the standard. They set it in professionalism and expertise and competence. I am so proud to have served in this organization and in this role. I thank each and every one of these service members for their dedication to our state and nation.”
To Paul, Clellan offered words of encouragement and urged him to rely on the team of leaders that will surround him.
“You’re absolutely going to love this assignment and I know that you’re going to do a great job,” Clellan said. “Your recent experience overseas, your many years of leading our Soldiers and your passion for excellence is going to help make this organization even better.”
Clellan closed her remarks by urging the Soldiers and leaders to: “… continue to hold the high ground … It’s been an honor to serve with you and for you … you are absolutely the reason I have continued to serve and push our organization to continually strive to be great.”