With the 56th Army Band providing the soundtrack, about 5,000 Joint Base Lewis-McChord soldiers and airmen marched by their newly appointed boss on Oct. 15 during a change of command ceremony at Watkins Field.

It was a moving sight for Lt. Gen. Curtis "Mike" Scaparrotti, who took over command of I Corps from Maj. Gen. John Johnson.

The march, which lasted nearly 40 minutes, closed out the two-hour ceremony.

"You've got more soldiers here at home at once than we've had in years," said Scaparrotti, a 54-year-old Ohio native. "As a new commander, that's inspiring to me."

Scaparrotti, who recently returned from a deployment to Afghanistan, comes to JBLM after commanding the 82nd Airborne Division at Fort Bragg, N.C.

"He brings a wealth of experience and proven leadership to this corps and to this military community," said Gen. James Thurman, who leads the U.S. Army Forces Command at Fort McPherson, Ga. "For the past 32 years he's had some of the most challenging assignments there are ... . His unique experiences make him uniquely qualified to lead this unit and these soldiers."

One of Scaparrotti's main priorities will be taking care of soldiers and their families and making sure soldiers get the care they need to reintegrate into the community.

"My focus is to make sure they understand the process and the resources that are open to them," he said. "We've got over 200 health experts here that focus on (reintegration). There are some teams out here working hard to help units reintegrate, get retrained and look to the future."

In addition to working with the deputy commander at Air Mobility Command and the 18th Air Force commander on his most recent deployment, Scaparrotti also comes from an Army post that is part of a joint installation with Pope Army Airfield. That experience working with the Air Force will come in handy at JBLM.

"I've got a good and long-working relationship with the Air Force in particular," he said. "This has been a joint fight the last ten years. We're probably more joint now as an armed forces as we've ever been."

Scaparrotti also plans on embracing the local bonds and connector programs that link soldiers to their communities.

"We realize that's really vital to us," he said. "Fayetteville has got a great community support (program). I fully expect to do the same thing here."