WILLEMSTAD - On July 9, Lieutenant Russel M. Webb relinquished command of the United States Cooperative Security Location (CSL) on Curaçao to Lieutenant Colonel Randall E. Broome. The Change of Command is a time-honored military tradition which symbolizes the enduring leadership and identity of the unit, even as individual authority shifts. This transfer of authority is physically represented by the passing of the ceremonial flag from the outgoing commander to the incoming commander. 

Present at the ceremony were U.S. Consul General Ramon “Chico” Negron, Rear Admiral Walter Hansen, the Commander of Netherlands Forces in the Caribbean, Colonel Matt G. McKinney, Commander of the 612th Theater Operations Group, Col Steven Cabrera, Reserve Advisor for Air Forces Southern, and other invited guests. 

During his time in command, Lieutenant Colonel Webb led the CSL in the support of 431 air mission.  These missions enabled 36 interdictions, 98 arrests and the seizure of 26,000 kilograms of narcotics valued at over 1 billion dollars. Lieutenant Colonel Webb strengthened partnerships with Curacao Airport Partners to improve airfield management and particularly between the CSL’s Fire Department and the Hato Airport Fire Department.  

Lieutenant Colonel Randall E. Broome assumes command well-prepared, having served as Director of Operations at CSL Curacao for the past year. This appointment marks only the second time in the CSL's 26-year history that a former Director of Operations has risen to the role of commander. 

The CSL and the 429th Expeditionary Operations Squadron support multinational aircraft operations that conduct detection, monitoring, and tracking missions that play an important role in counter-drug efforts in the region. CSL Curaçao was established through a bilateral agreement between the Kingdom of the Netherlands and the United States.