The Old Guard Association
(3d U.S. Infantry Regiment)

June 11, 2020

Members and Friends,

I know you all want to know more about the upcoming reunion. Here’s the latest information. The TOGA Board of Directors met last night and voted unanimously to continue planning for our Reunion in September, but we will reexamine that decision in early August. In the meantime, we’ll constantly monitor COVID restrictions in the hope we can make a final call sooner. We spent a lot of time considering this decision. Here are just some of the discussion points:

• Current restrictions do not allow for the camaraderie of a reunion that we’ve come to enjoy. That interaction is one of the great benefits of our gathering. We want to spend time with each other and today’s Old Guard soldiers. It is particularly important for our teammates who are older or who need our support.
• We must be prudent about any hazard we expose our teammates to. We know that some of our population are particularly susceptible to the COVID virus. We care about you and take that responsibility seriously.
• The leadership at the Sheraton Hotel has been very helpful to us.  They haven’t scheduled any other events during the period of our reunion.  More importantly, they agreed that they will apply our deposits for this year to the 2021 reunion if we have to cancel.  This is a key point—we won’t lose any of the money we’ve given to the hotel if we have to cancel.
• Six weeks out, in early August, is a timeframe that gives a reasonable amount of time for people to make travel plans and for TOGA to concentrate on the detail of producing the reunion.

Like you, we want to make it happen, but we have to wait and hope the restrictions are lifted before we can make the call. Keep up your enthusiasm! Contact your pals and encourage them to attend with you. Remember, there is no penalty. TOGA will refund your fees if we have to cancel. Send your questions to togareunion1998@gmail.com. Thanks for your patience as we work through the issues.

Old Guard,
Flip Godfrey, President

June 9, 2020—Ft. Myer, Virginia—Today, the Old Guard Association (TOGA) honors the service of Colonel James J. Tuite, departing Old Guard Regimental Commanding Office (RCO), as Colonel Patrick Roddy assumes command. A ceremony on June 5, saw TOGA past president CSM Kerry Kolhof, Ret. present Colonel Tuite with a parting gift plaque inscribed as follows:

Old Guard RCO James J. Tuite
Thank you for your leadership of the Regiment
and your support of our Association.
Presented June 2020 by The Old Guard Association

Colonel James J. Tuite is a native of Long Island, New York. He commissioned as an Infantry Officer from the United States Military Academy at West Point in 1995. He has held numerous command and leadership positions from platoon leader through battalion commander throughout 23 years of service.

He served a combat deployment to Herat, Afghanistan, where he was Deputy Commander for the NATO Train, Advise & Assist Command – West. His other notable operational assignments include service with the 1^st Ranger Battalion, the 82^nd Airborne Division, the 4^th Infantry Division, the 1^st Infantry Division and two tours with the 25^th Infantry Division out of Hawaii.  He has three combat deployments in support of Operations Iraqi Freedom, New Dawn, Freedom’s Sentinel & Resolute Support.

Colonel Tuite has also held numerous institutional assignments focusing mainly on leader development. He served as an Assistant Professor in the Behavioral Sciences & Leadership (BS&L) Department at West Point. He also served as the Professor of Military Science & Department Chair at Providence College. Following battalion command, Colonel Tuite served as a Special Assistant to the Army Chief of Staff as the Director of the Army Strategic Leader Development Program that provided executive education for the Army’s general officers.

Colonel Tuite holds a Master of Business Administration (MBA) degree from the College of William & Mary’s Business School ’04 and he was the Army’s 2016 Fellow at the United States Institution of Peace in Washington, D.C., where he studied economics, state fragility and positive psychology.

TOGA wishes to express its sincerest gratitude for the support that Colonel Tuite has shown the Association during his service with The Old Guard and wishes him all the best in his continued service with the Army.