Ely Capindo’s stint as Fort Stewart garrison command sergeant major will go down as a memorable one.

Capindo relinquished his responsibility Friday morning in a ceremony at the Main Post Chapel. He is returning to the Pacific Northwest, where he will be the commandant of a Noncommissioned Officers Academy in the Pacific Northwest.

CSM Capindo said the word “rewarding” came to mind as he prepared to depart Fort Stewart and the Coastal Empire, working with the soldiers, families, civilians, the community and establishing relationships across all those groups.

“I’ve built these relationships with the community, as well as all the civilian workforce, the soldiers and the families, so it’s going to be a little rough leaving here,” he said, “but just like the Army song, ‘the Army keeps rolling along.’” During his time as the garrison’s top NCO, the base has seen a major deployment and has been hit with a number of weather incidents.

“You can’t go at this job alone,” he said. “We are blessed to have probably the best workforce in the U.S. Army and in Installation Management Command. I really thank a lot of those leaders and the workforce who dedicated their time during a lot of those times of challenge that impacted the Coastal Empire.”

Garrison commander Col. Marc Austin thanked his senior enlisted advisor and noted the difference in how he’s greeted and how Command Sgt. Maj. Capindo was greeted. Col. Austin said there are quarterly inspections that have to take place and he was advised not to do them – that he would be seen as the “bad guy.”

Instead, Command Sgt. Maj. Capindo went and did the inspections.

“He walks in with high fives and hugs. He could tell them the hard truths, walking out with a smile on their faces, understanding he had the best interest of them and their families in mind,” Col. Austin said.

Col. Austin said Command Sgt. Maj. Capindo took matters of his plate that allowed him to concentrate on other issues the organization needed.

“It is unlike anything I have ever done, the scope and scale of responsibility, the amount of people you touch,” Col. Austin said of being garrison commander. “He has brought a compassion and empathy to this formation.”

Command Sgt. Maj. Capindo said he enjoyed working on the relationships that had been established and moving them forward during his time at Fort Stewart.

“It’s been fantastic,” Capindo said. “It’s been great. Time does fly and it has been an honor and a privilege to serve as the garrison command sergeant major for Fort Stewart and Hunter Army Airfield.”

With another permanent change of station pending, Capindo figures he’s moved about 12 times in his career.

“It’s always tough to relocate,” he said. “It never gets easy.”