Illinois Army National Guard Logistics Battalion Dances its Way to a New Designation

North Riverside Battalion Redesignated and Gets New Senior Enlisted Leader

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Battalion Commander Lt. Col. Tim Barnhart unfurls the U.S. Army Flag representing the guidon of the Illinois Army National Guard’s 198th Combat Sustainment Support Battalion.

ELGIN, IL (09/21/2018) (readMedia)-- It was quite the party.

North Riverside's 405th Brigade Support Battalion entered the Sept. 8 soiree and by the time it was over it was the 198th Combat Sustainment Support Battalion and had a new command sergeant major.

But this was planned.

The battalion held its de-activation ceremony and its re-activation as the 198th CSSB in conjunction with its battalion ball at the Holiday Inn in Elgin, Illinois. Also at the ball, the battalion held a Change of Responsibility ceremony with Command Sgt. Maj. Anthony Mollusky of Kincaid, Illinois, handing over the reins as the battalion's senior enlisted leader to Command Sgt. Maj. Michael Behary, a native of Vandergrift, Pennsylvania and a resident of Sherman, Illinois.

"We wanted to celebrate the accomplishments of the battalion and to look forward to a bright future. The battalion ball is a great time to celebrate," said Lt. Col. Timothy Barnhart of Springfield, the former 405th BSB Commander and new Commander of the 198th CSSB.

"It is not numerical designation that makes a battalion, it is the people," said Maj. Gen. Michael Zerbonia, the Assistant Adjutant General – Army of the Illinois National Guard and Commander of the Illinois Army National Guard. "The change from a BSB to a CSSB was driven by the Army's needs, but it is the same people that made this a great BSB that are going to make it a great CSSB."

The 405th BSB was constituted in September 2009 and federally recognized in October 2011. During its 9-year history, it supported missions around the world including a major medical exercise, MEDFLAG 2011, in Ghana, Africa as well as missions in Poland as part of the Illinois National Guard's State Partnership Program with the Polish military. It also activated Soldiers to fight floods and winter storms in Illinois.

The battalion ball's keynote speaker was Col. Rodney Boyd of Chicago, who was the 405th BSB's first Commander and later would command the 108th Sustainment Brigade. Boyd spoke of the history of the 405th BSB as well as the need for Soldiers to take charge of their own careers and take advantage of opportunities when they arise.

Command Sgt. Maj. Mollusky had been the senior enlisted leader of the battalion since 2014 before officially handing over that responsibility to Command Sgt. Maj. Behary. Mollusky entered the U.S. Army in 1990 as a Quartermaster and Equipment Repairer. He is a veteran of the Persian Gulf War and Operation Iraqi Freedom and has had leadership positions at all levels up to battalion command sergeant major. He is a graduate of the U.S. Army Sergeants Major Course. Command Sgt. Maj. Mollusky and his spouse, Michelle, have two children, 19-year-old Taylor and 15-year-old Alex. He is also the father of Addam Kinsel of Springfield, Illinois. Command Sgt. Maj. Mollusky works full-time as a civilian in the Defense Logistics Agency. His next military assignment will be as the sergeant major of the Illinois Army National Guard's Logistics Directorate.

Command Sgt. Maj. Behary, the new command sergeant major of the 198th Combat Sustainment Support Battalion, served in the active Army for nine years starting as a supply specialist in the 1st Brigade, 2nd Armored Division at Fort Hood, Texas, in 1994. He began his career in the Illinois Army National Guard in 2003 as an Active Guard Reserve (AGR) Soldier. He has served as a senior logistics or operations NCO through the battalion and to the brigade and Joint Force Headquarters levels. In 2011 he deployed to Afghanistan with the 1-14th Agriculture Development Team. He is a graduate of the U.S. Army Sergeants Major Course.