MCLB-Albany Hosts Change of Command Ceremony for Marine Corps Logistics Command

July 18 – MCLB-ALBANY – Maj. Gen. Joseph Shrader trades his camouflage military fatigues for camouflage suitable for bow hunting in Colorado as he wraps up a nearly 40-year career Monday with a ceremony change of command in Albany.

“I’m going to chase the elk,” ‘Sharder, who commanded Marine Corps Logistics Command for the previous four years, said in an interview after the ceremony that included the presentation of the flag to his replacement, the Major General Keith Reventlow. “I’m looking forward to spending a lot of time with my kids and grandkids, making up for some of the time I missed.”

The general, who will be retiring in North Carolina, was kicked out with great fanfare from the Parris Island Marine Band and then spent a long time greeting many attendees who stopped to bid him farewell with a handshake or a hug.

The retired general enlisted in the Marine Corps in January 1981 and served three years as an infantryman before earning a degree in electrical engineering. In 1989, he was commissioned into the Platoon Leaders Course, acting as an artillery officer and acquisitions professional. Shrader held commands at platoon, battery and battalion level. He also served as Chief of Staff to the Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Navy for Expeditionary Programs and Logistics, as Defense Systems Acquisition Program Manager and Commodity Group Director within the Marine Corps. Systems Command.

As a general officer, he served as commandant of Marine Corps Systems Command before moving to Albany, where he was born in 1962 while his father served at the base from 1959 to 1963.

“Changes in command are none of my business,” he said during his address to the audience that included Marines, base civilian employees and community leaders. “They are all about you, so you will see the changes in authority and responsibility. I have had the privilege of being the commanding general of this organization for the past four years.

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“I want to thank you all. I want to thank you for your perseverance and your patience, but most of all I want to thank you all for being great Americans and for being great patriots. Because without you all and us and those like us, we wouldn’t have this (country).”

During the Iraq War, in which Shrader participated, he saw the ingenuity of MCLB-Albany, which created a mobile hospital that brought operating rooms to the battlefield.

“This organization has been around since 1952, and it’s been through a lot of conflict,” Shrader said. “It’s (succeeded) thanks to all the men and women who turn the keys day in and day out. That’s what it’s really about. I leave here today knowing that this organization is in good position. My heart is happy. I am thankful for the friendship, and I look forward to hearing great things from this organization in the future.

Shrader was responsible for improving logistics command during his tenure, a job that was made difficult during the worst of the COVID-19 pandemic that hit the Albany area particularly hard in 2020, Lt. Gen. Edward said. D. Banta, Deputy Commander, Installations and Logistics.

“You always had the interests of the Marines and the civilian workforce in mind,” Banta said. “Joe, this is a better place for you having been here. I can’t think of anyone who would have done better than you while you were here.”

Reventlow served as Commander of Defense Logistics Agency Distribution for two years before returning to MCLB-Albany, where he previously served for 10 months. He was commissioned in 1990 and served at all levels of the Navy Air-Ground Task Force.

His past assignments include Chief of Staff, Marine Corps Logistics Command; operations officer for the East Division Chief of 2nd Marine Logistics Group, United States Transportation Command; team leader for Supply and Maintenance, Installations and Logistics Department, U.S. Marine Corps Headquarters, and a number of other command positions, including the Commanding General of 3rd Marine Corps maritime logistics in Okinawa, Japan.

The new commander noted that it was his 10th move in 19 years.

“We can’t wait to get to work, and that’s the main focus here,” Reventlow said.