CAMP LEMONNIER, Djibouti – The Pennsylvania National Guard’s Task Force Associator was officially given responsibility for the security mission in East Africa from Task Force Paxton, another Pennsylvania National Guard Unit, during a transfer of authority ceremony Oct. 21, 2024.
Task Force Paxton arrived at Camp Lemonnier with over 1,100 service members in February 2024. This task force, comprised of soldiers from the 2nd Battalion, 112th Infantry Regiment, and the 55th Stryker Brigade Combat Team, as well as soldiers from eight other companies across Pennsylvania, spent nine months providing operational security and crisis response operations in Djibouti and at outstations throughout the Horn of Africa.
U.S. Army Maj. Gen. Brian Cashman, CJTF-HOA commanding general, commended Task Force Paxton for accomplishing their mission with incredible competence and proficiency, providing force protection, conducting crisis response operations, and fostering partnerships throughout the Horn of Africa.
“Task Force Paxton, your accomplishments and sacrifices only add excellence to your distinguished heritage. There is no doubt that you have brought great credit upon the Pennsylvania National Guard, CJTF-HOA, the U.S. Army, and the United States of America.”
During their nine-month tenure in the Horn of Africa, Task Force Paxton provided 24/7 perimeter security for military installations, enabled refueling and refit operations for U.S. naval vessels, staffed four Quick Reaction Forces at multiple locations ready to respond swiftly to any emergency or hostile act, and comprised the East Africa Response Force, conducting numerous Emergency Defense Readiness Exercises in Madagascar, Uganda, Gabon, and other East African nations in support of CJTF-HOA’s crisis response mission.
Task Force Paxton fostered foreign partnerships by conducting over 105 combined operations, knowledge and cultural exchanges, and training exercises with French, Japanese, Italian, Spanish, Kenyan, and Djiboutian armed forces, allies, and partners.
“Our motto of ‘strive, obey, endure’ has guided our actions,” said U.S. Army Lt. Col. Eric Ponzek, commander of Task Force Paxton. “Task Force Paxton strived and met the expectations for each mission set while following the standard. Task Force Paxton obeyed and upheld the expectations for professionalism and duty. Task Force Paxton endured through the heat, the long days and nights, and through every challenge we were presented with or sought out. Soldiers of Task Force Paxton, our watch has ended.”
During the ceremony, incoming security forces commander U.S. Army Lt. Col. Fittipoldi of the 1-111th, and Command Sgt. Maj. Chuck Trofe, the 1-111th Infantry senior enlisted leader, unfurled their unit's colors, an act representing Task Force Associator's assumption of control over the SECFOR unit in CJTF-HOA.
“I could not be happier to have the ability to pass the torch not just to another battalion commander in the 56th, but to a friend,” said Ponzek.
Task Force Associator, headquartered in Plymouth Meeting, Pennsylvania, is comprised of soldiers from the 1st Battalion, 111th Infantry Regiment and, like Task Force Paxton, are part of the 56th Stryker Brigade Combat Team. More than 1,000 National Guard soldiers will be part of the incoming task force, along with soldiers from both the Puerto Rico National Guard and the Illinois National Guard, augmented in companies under Task Force Associator.
“The regiment was founded as The Associators by Benjamin Franklin in Philadelphia on November 21, 1747,” said U.S. Army LTC David Fittipoldi. “It is the oldest regiment in Pennsylvania, and one of the oldest units in the United States military. We have fought in nearly every major conflict.”
Task Force Associator now has the essential mission of providing critical security support at installations across the Horn of Africa. Fittipoldi expressed readiness to continue the mission initiated by Task Force Paxton.
“We’ve quickly developed a culture throughout our organization underscored by standards and discipline, teamwork, lethality, and care for one another,” said Fittipoldi, commander of Task Force Associators. “Those ingredients are critical to our success in our assigned mission here in the Horn of Africa. We are confident and we are ready.”
Maj. Gen. Cashman welcomed Task Force Associators and encouraged them to build upon the foundation laid by Task Force Paxton.
“Task Force Associator, with your unit's distinguished legacy, you will now carry the responsibility forward – defending and protecting lives in the Horn of Africa and wherever on the African continent you will be needed,” said Cashman. “Your task is heavy. You will reach the limits of your training as you are challenged and grow into the demands of this deployment. I challenge you to continue to hone your skills and remain vigilant, as the threat is never far. Although this deployment will be hard, it will be undoubtedly rewarding. I trust that over the course of these nine months, you all will live up to your unit’s motto of ‘Nulla Vestigia Retrorsum,’ which means ‘No Step Backward,’ and keep our operational momentum moving forward.”
