Corps Buffalo District gets new commander

Lt. Col. Owen J. Beaudoin (center) officially assumed command of U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Buffalo District from Lt. Col. Stephen H. Bales in a formal ceremony June 21 at the Connecticut Street Armory in Buffalo. The time-honored event, which dates back before the Civil War, emphasizes the continuity of command and unit identity, despite changes in individual authority from one officer to another. The ceremony sees the passing of the command flag - the symbol of the unit's identity - from the outgoing commander to the incoming commander.

In the photo, Great Lakes and Ohio River Division Commander Brig. Gen. Margaret W. Burcham oversees the transition.

The Corps Buffalo District, which covers an area of 38,000 square miles from Massena to the Indiana state line, oversees a number of federal engineers operations, including the former Lake Ontario Ordnance Works site in Lewiston and Porter.