Marines, sailors, Department of Defense civilians, contractors, government officials and other special guests gathered at the flight line between Hangars 101 and 102 to witness Col. Brian P. Annichiarico pass on his duties as Marine Corps Base Hawaii commanding officer to Col. Eric W. Schaefer, Aug. 13, 2014.

Annichiarico was the commanding officer from November 2011 through August 2014. His personal awards include a Bronze Star Medal, Meritorious Service Medal, and Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal among others. During his change of command ceremony, he also received the Legion of Merit for his achievements while serving aboard MCB Hawaii.

Annichiarico will continue his career as the officer in charge of the United States Joint Deployable Analysis Team aboard Eglin Air Force Base in Florida.

During his speech he personally thanked numerous individuals, including his staff, for their hard work and efforts during his term here as commanding officer.

“I appreciate all the thanks I am getting for the base’s (success) but I didn’t do anything,” Annichiarico said. “The staff does everything. There are 1,500 civilians and about 1,000 Marines working here and they are nothing short of spectacular.

The base never sleeps. When you turn on your computer, that’s the base. Everything happens because of the staff here. It’s not me. It’s the staff that makes things happen. So thank you.”

Schaefer previously served as the deputy director of the Marine Air-Ground Training Facility Staff Training Program Division. He is the 37th MCB Hawaii commanding officer.

“It is my honor to take part (in) this celebration and all (of its) accomplishments,” Shaefer said. “There has not been a single day in the short time that I have been here that someone has said ‘something’s wrong.’ In my entire career I have never been someplace where someone hasn’t come up to me and said ‘something’s wrong’ or ‘something needs to be fixed’ or that ‘we need to start from scratch.’ The staff here is amazing.”

Schaefer has more than 2,000 military flight hours and his awards include a Bronze Star Medal and Defense Meritorious Service Medal, among others. His military education includes The Basic School, Naval Flight Training, Tactical Air Control Party Course and Amphibious Warfare School.

“(Annichiarico’s) support has been superb in his three years,” said Maj. Gen. Charles L. Hudson, commanding general of Marine Corps Installations Pacific and commander  of Marine Corps Base Camp Butler. “Brian and his team here set the standard. If you read down in the program you will see he made some remarkable accomplishments while being here. He has been recognized by the Department of the Navy and the DoD. He achieved the gold level for water and energy conservation for the last three years. These are some remarkable achievements for the commander and command team.”