By Natela Cutter
DLIFLC Public Affairs
Lt. Col. Tony Sabo accepts the guidon from Col. Phil Deppert, the Defense Language Institute Foreign Language Center commandant, on Soldier Field July 8. Sabo will take command of the 229th Military Intelligence Battalion at the Presidio of Monterey. (Photo by Natela Cutter, DLIFLC Public Affairs)
MONTEREY, Calif. – Lt. Col. Derrick C. Long relinquished command of the 229th Military Intelligence Battalion to Lt. Col. Tony K. Sabo during a ceremony on Soldier Field at the Presidio of Monterey, California, July 8.
In his farewell remarks, Defense Language Institute Foreign Language Center Commandant, Col. Phil Deppert, praised Long for his exceptional leadership skills and for maintaining a positive and productive environment in one of the largest battalion in the Army, numbering more than 1,900 Soldiers.
“You have been fully responsible for executing every mission in your organization, and Derrick, you have done that very well…You have set that stage and enabled that success over time,” said Deppert.
In his outgoing remarks, Long addressed the service members, students of the 23 languages taught at the institute, saying “You are the heart of this institute, and I proud and humbled to have served with you.”
Col. Phil Deppert, Defense Language Institute Foreign Language Center commandant, praised outgoing 229th MI Battalion Commander Lt. Col Derrick Long for his exceptional leadership skills and for maintaining a positive and productive environment. (Photo by Natela Cutter, DLIFLC Public Affairs)
Sabo took command of the 229th MI Battalion by accepting the guidon from the Commandant, symbolically taking charge of the battalion. Sabo is a 1993 Mandarin Chinese graduate and spent her first years in the military in the 229th’s Alpha Company.
“I walked the same walk, ran down the same hills….and will do all I can to make sure you become confident, committed and successful Soldiers,” said Sabo, who holds a bachelor’s degree in Teaching English as a Second Language, a master’s degree in English, and a second master’s degree in Organizational Leadership from Georgetown University.
Soldiers of the 229th MI Battalion assigned to DLIFLC facilitate the production of qualified warrior linguists and sustains Soldiers and their families to support the operational force.
