Dubik formally ends command of Fort Lewis

FORT LEWIS, Wash. – Lt. Gen. James Dubik recalled the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, as he relinquished command of Fort Lewis on Monday, his voice breaking as he urged the country to remain diligent in confronting its enemies in Iraq and Afghanistan.

“War was declared on this nation and then thrust upon us on 9/11 – openly, viciously, unjustly,” Dubik said. “Our enemies have as their goal the demise of this nation’s influence and way of life.”

Less than three years after taking command, Dubik, 57, is leaving Fort Lewis to oversee training of Iraqi military and police forces. He spoke at a ceremony in which he turned the base over to his deputy commander, Brig. Gen. William Troy.

Troy will serve as interim commander until next month, when Dubik’s recommended replacement, Maj. Gen. Charles H. Jacoby Jr., of U.S. Army Alaska, is expected to be confirmed by the Senate Armed Services Committee.

Dubik is scheduled to arrive in Iraq in mid-May and assume command of the Multinational Transition Security Corps-Iraq the following month.

While he is preparing to leave, the Democratic-led Congress plans to send President Bush legislation calling for America to begin withdrawing from Iraq by Oct. 1. Bush has vowed to veto the measure.

During a meeting with reporters Friday, Dubik said such a deadline would be unhelpful and could possibly have unintended consequences.

The enemy would have a timetable with which to operate, he said. For soldiers, “you start thinking about being potentially the last casualty and you start losing the sense of aggressiveness and initiative and willingness to move forward that’s required in combat.”

Dubik on Monday praised the sacrifices of soldiers, families and communities that bear the brunt of the war. As of Monday, 99 soldiers from Fort Lewis had died in Iraq.

Dubik called for the country to remain patient and steadfast in support of its military service members fighting in the Middle East.

“Today we fight these enemies with soldiers and sailors and airmen and Marines that were 3, 4, 5 and 6 at the end of the last Gulf War. As a nation, we ought to be willing to end this war so the next generations of 3-, 4-, 5- and 6-year-olds are not fighting a larger, more complex and more difficult war that we left them,” he said.

About 400 people attended Monday’s ceremony, including retired Gen. John Shalikashvili, former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff; Brig. Gen. Sheila Baxter, commander of Madigan Army Medical Center; state and local representatives; and Gov. Chris Gregoire’s spouse, Mike Gregoire.

During Dubik’s two-and-a-half-year tenure, more than 25,000 active-duty soldiers and reservists from Fort Lewis deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan. Fort Lewis has two Stryker teams in Iraq, the 2nd Infantry Division’s 3rd and 4th brigades.

Dubik and his wife, Sharon Basso, have also spearheaded the establishment of mental health programs to help soldiers, spouses and children transition to Fort Lewis and cope with deployments.

Basso, a retired CIA senior intelligence officer, drew several rounds of applause from the crowd as she received four awards for her service to Fort Lewis families and the surrounding communities.

Dubik also commended his wife, drawing laughter from the crowd when he addressed her as “Ma’am.”

“I call her ma’am because she outranked me for so long, and still does as the wife,” he said.

Having served at Fort Lewis on three separate occasions, Dubik said he and Basso leave with feelings of gratitude, pride and determination.

“Who couldn’t love this place, with the mountains, trees, fresh air, the water of Puget Sound. What a great place, what a great state,” he said.