Army Strong: Lt. Col. Michael Stinnett joins Recruiting Battalion at Fort Hamilton

In a personal and intimate morning ceremony on Thursday, June 27, the U.S. Army Recruiting Battalion of New York City welcomed a new commanding officer.

With both the incoming and outgoing commanders and their families present for the special occasion, Lieutenant Colonel Richard Davis relinquished command to Lieutenant Colonel Michael Stinnett, a prior professor of military science at the Marshall University Army ROTC Department.

Even Bailey, Stinnett’s dog, attended the 10 a.m. Change of Command, giving it a “personal touch that felt good” explained Tina Beller, the public affairs specialist at the Recruiting Battalion.

Three hundred assigned soldiers were also on the scene, Beller continued, with the Verrazano Bridge behind them as the event unfolded.

Celebratory participants included the U.S. Army band from Fort Totten in Queens, a brass quartet plus vocalists from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, a fireboat from the Fire Department of New York spraying red, white and blue water, and interactive Army exhibits for everyone around, young and old.

Stinnett has been honored with the Bronze Star Medal, the Meritorious Service Medal along with two Oak Leaf Clusters, the Army Commendation Medal, and the Army Achievement Medial with two Oak Leaf Clusters.

The new commander’s deployments include Operation Iraqi Freedom 2008-2009. He’s from California and enlisted in the Army upon graduation from high school.

Stinnett’s immediate family consists of his wife Karina Porchas Stinnett and his four children, Jordan, 12, Kamila, nine, and Jacob and Jenna, who are six.