Army recruiting change responsibility in Lansing

LANSING, Mich. (WILX) - The Great Lakes Army Recruiting Battalion held its Change of Responsibility ceremony on Friday at the Michigan Capitol Building.

The ceremony is a military tradition when a senior officer leaves a leadership position and a new non-commissioned officer takes their place. It symbolizes the unit’s transfer of responsibility, authority, and accountability.

Command Sergeant Major William Boettcher of the Great Lakes Battalion said the ceremony felt bittersweet.

“You know you work 20-plus years, more than half my life has been in service of this country. This is my second time in this battalion, so I have almost a decade in this battalion alone serving the state of Michigan,” said Boettcher. “It’s kind of one of those things you work up to the highest levels, you get all this responsibility and then at about 10-30 today it’s going to be gone.”

The Great Lakes Army Recruiting Battalion was established in October of 1964.

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