West Henderson’s JROTC program performed the Change of Command ceremony on Wednesday, May 22.

The ceremony involves the outgoing commander, senior Seth Taylor, giving command of the battalion to the new commander, junior Noah Burnette.

“It feels good, just a lot of responsibility. It’s a lot of pride,” Burnette said. “(I’m most nervous about) trying to set the example and leading them to aspire to want to do great things, but I’m excited about the fun times we’re going to have together. It’s definitely going to be something that I’m going to look forward to.”

Along with the feelings of excitement for the new commander and bittersweet for the outgoing commander, the ceremony holds importance for the battalion.

“With these passes of the battalion colors from one person to the other, each has significance,” Lytle said. “Going from the sergeant major to the outgoing commander signifies his last allegiance to that commander; it’s the last thing he’s going to do for that commander. From the outgoing commander to myself, it signifies there’s no void in leadership. Me passing it to the new commander is giving him the responsibility of taking over the battalion, and passing it back to the command sergeant major is saying they’re going to work together and he’s going to start to work with that new commander.”

Lytle said he holds similar sentiments as the cadets: he will miss having Taylor in charge, but is excited to see Burnette take the lead.

“I think Noah is more outgoing (than Seth Taylor),” Lytle said. “Noah is more personable as far as he likes to get in with the cadets and do what they do, is interested in what they do. Seth is a more behind-the-scenes person, and he leads in a way that he likes to put it out there and likes for people to take it from under.”

Although their leadership styles differ, Taylor said he is also looking forward to Burnette leading the cadets.

“Being able to give it to somebody is a big deal because you’re entrusting them to take the spot of you,” Taylor said. “You just have to put your trust in them that they’ll do a good job and keep the Falcon tradition, and I know that I can trust Noah with that because he’s shown over the past three years that he’s a good leader and I know that people trust him to do a good job.”

By: Elise Trexler, Web Editor-in-Chief