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Col. Joseph Murray took command of Marine Corps Base Quantico today.
He replaces Col. David Maxwell who will ship off July 22 to Afghanistan after three years at the base’s top ranking official and will be promoted to brigadier general. He took over as as base commander in May 2012.
Maxwell was on watch in 2013 when two Marines were shot and killed, and a third took his own life in a shooting on the base. The incident brought national attention to the base.
Maxwell oversaw the most busy time of change at Quantico in recent memory. The Marine Corps University, The Basic School, and the base’s air station were all expanded under Maxwell.
He was also responsible for making sure basic maintenance and day-to-day operations of facilities at Quantico.
“What do we have today? Do we need to keep the air conditioning on or the heat, or is there a suspicious package? We’ve had two of these situations in the past month,” quipped Maxwell.
Murray is the 14th base commander since 1990, the same year Murray was commission as a Second Lieutenant in the Marine Corps. Murray was introduced at a change of command ceremony at Little Hall at 10 a.m Friday.
Flags from 50 U.S. states adorned the stage. Maxwell presented Murry with the Marine Corps flag and both shook hands and then embraced during the changing of the guard display.
Murray devoted most of his welcome speech to thanking his friends and family from across the U.S. for attending the ceremony. He also thanked his friends from the neighborhood in Stafford County where he calls home.
The ceremony comes one day after four Marines were shot and killed at a military recruiting center in Chattanooga, Tenn. There are increasing signs the now dead shooter, identified as Mohammad Youssuf Abdulazeez, perpetrated an act of domestic terrorism when he pulled the trigger.
A Quantico spokeswoman told Potomac Local the base was not under any heightened alert following the shootings.
A military police mobile command post was set up at the main gate at Quantico this morning. Military police barred the media from taking photos of the command post or the security checkpoint.
Murry and Maxwell did not speak to the media following the change of command ceremony.
Col. Daniel Choike retired as Quantico Base Commander in 2012 and preceded Maxwell.
“The number one concern is safety and security,” said Choike. “This is an open installation, and that comes with its own set of challenges.”
Quantico Town is located inside the Marine Corps Base — the only such town in the U.S. to be encapsulated inside a military installation.
Choike said having the town presents a “unique” situation, but one that doesn’t present a security risk because of effective security policies.
