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| Col. Larry Mclendon, (right) accepts award of the Legion of Merit from Major Gen. Terry Nesbitt, commander of the Georgia Army National Guard. (Photo by Spc Curtis Porer III) |
124th MPAD
Mclendon retired after spending 36 years serving his state and his nation as a Citizen-Soldier. Prior to his command at RTI the colonel was the rear detachment commander of the 48th Brigade Combat Team while the brigade’s main body served a year in
Lieutenant Col. Randal Scott Carter assumes command of RTI now that McClendon has retired.
Looking out on the many friends and comrades who came to wish him well, Mclendon said the past few years had been more challenging and rewarding than any he’d ever had.
“And I have enjoyed every moment,” he said.
“I have mixed emotions about today”, Mclendon went on from a podium inside RTI’s auditorium. “I’ve been in the National Guard my entire life, and I’m proud of every soldier I’ve had the honor of serving with.
Monday morning will be a tough, tough day for me,” he said in a low, emotional voice, “because for the first time I won’t put the uniform and share the camaraderie of people who are the greatest fighting force on this earth, the Georgia Army National Guard and United States Army.”
It was with soft spoken and heart-felt sentiment that many of McClendon fellow Soldiers honored and talked about working with him.
“NCOs and other enlisted Soldiers have always considered the colonel to be an approachable and ‘easy to talk to commander,” said RTI’s top enlisted Soldier, Command Sgt. Maj. Mark Bender. “His personality made it easy for anyone to talk to him about anything whether it was a professional or personal matter.”
Major Gen. Terry Nesbitt, Georgia Army Guard commander, noted McClendon has served this organization extremely well. McClendon’s fellow Soldiers wish him all the best in his retirement, Nesbitt said, and will always be thankful for the chance to serve alongside him.
“I know I can say for everyone us that it will be hard to imagine a Georgia Guard without Larry McClendon, but as he enters this new phase in his life we want him to know the ‘family’ he leaves behind will never forget his support and dedication, and it will always be here for him.”
Among the many accolades and awards Col. Mclendon received was the Army’s Legion of Merit. He also has earned the honorary promotion to the rank of brigadier general signed by Gov. Sonny Perdue and a saber courtesy of the soldiers who work at RTI.
After the ceremony, Carolyn McClendon recounted how she and her husband changed their wedding date four times because of her husband’s National Guard commitments. “He actually had drill on the day of our wedding”, she said laughing.
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