Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune, N.C. – Marines and sailors with 6th Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division gathered at the 2nd Marine Logistics Group Amphitheater, May 21 for a change-of-command ceremony.
Colonel Richard L. Simcock II, commanding officer, 6th Marine Regiment, handed over the reigns to Col. Matthew A. Lopez during the ceremony.
The ceremony formally reaffirms the authority of an incoming commander and allows the outgoing commander to speak to his Marines one final time. Representatives from the regiment took to the field showing their support for both men as the ceremony began.
Navy Cmdr. Timothy Overturf, the regimental chaplain, began the ceremony with an invocation for the leadership of both men as they continue to lead Marines and sailors in the years ahead.
Simcock was commissioned as a second lieutenant in May of 1983 and was assigned to 2nd Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Brigade after graduating from The Basic School and the Infantry Officer Course at Quantico, Va. During his time in the Corps, Simcock has served in various places like Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center Twentynine Palms, Calif., Okinawa, Japan, and Tampa, Fla.
Simcock is a graduate of the Amphibious Warfare School in Quantico, Va., the Marine Corps Command and Staff College, as well as the Top Level School at the Naval War College in Newport, R.I. He reported to Headquarters Marine Corps in November 2003 as the Congressional Liaison Officer to the U.S. House of Representatives.
Simcock assumed command of the 6th Regiment in June 2006, and commanded Regimental Combat Team 6 in al Anbar province, Iraq. As the commanding officer of RCT-6, he operated in an area with a population of more than 700,000. RCT-6 coordinated the efforts of more than 16,000 Marines, sailors and soldiers to combat the influence of Al-Qaeda in the greater Fallujah area, known as Area of Operations Raliegh, which dramatically decreased the violence throughout his battlespace. The servicemembers of RCT-6 worked toward provincial Iraqi control and developed effective relationships with local tribes and security forces to support the establishment of a viable government and economy.
“We held the line in AO Raliegh,” Simcock explained to the crowd. “I lost 42 men holding that line. They knew the cost and they knew what needed to be done. I could not be more proud of what we accomplished.”
In his next assignment, he will serve as the Director of the Tactical Training and Exercise Control Group at the Marine Air Ground Task Force Training Center, Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center, Twentynine Palms, Calif.
As the orders were published, Simcock held the regimental colors with its many streamers signifying the battles and campaigns the regiment has participated in.
As Lopez took the colors, he followed the rich history and heritage shared by many men before him. His regiment has served in Europe, Asia, Africa, the Caribbean and the Mediterranean Seas and Iraq and Afghanistan. Many of Lopez’s Marines and sailors are currently deployed to various locations across the globe, with three of his four battalions serving abroad.
Lopez was commissioned as a second lieutenant in May of 1985 and was initially assigned to 1st Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment as a rifle platoon commander. Lopez has served in various billets across the Corps, ranging from a series commander for Marine Corps Recruit Depot, San Diego, Calif., to a Ground Combat Operations Officer for I Marine Expeditionary Force. Lopez commanded 3rd Battalion, 7th Marine Regiment during two tours to the Middle East in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom.
Lopez is a graduate of the Amphibious Warfare School, the Marine Corps Command and Staff College and the National Defense University’s Advanced Warfighting School.
“I can honestly say he has set the bar very high,” Lopez said of his predecessor’s work as regimental commander. “Now we are going to set it even higher. I can assure you the 6th Marine Regiment will never let you or our nation down.”
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