After more than 52 years, U.S. Army Training and Doctrine Command has been inactivated as the Army prepares to stand up U.S. Army Transformation and Training Command.

Army Secretary Dan Driscoll and Army Chief of Staff Gen. Randy George joined Gen. Gary Brito, Training and Doctrine Command’s 18th and final commander, for an inactivation ceremony on Sept. 26 at Joint Base Langley-Eustis, Virginia.

The inactivation is “bittersweet,” George said during the ceremony. But it’s necessary as the Army transforms for the future, he said. “The world has changed dramatically since TRADOC was established,” he said. “I know this TRADOC team understands that the world is changing fast. Our adversaries are moving quickly, and technology even quicker.”

The inactivation of Training and Doctrine Command is part of the Army Transformation Initiative, announced on May 1 by Driscoll and George. The effort seeks to create a leaner, more lethal Army as the force grapples with an increasingly complex security environment and fast evolving technology.

Training and Doctrine Command is merging with U.S. Army Futures Command to form U.S. Army Transformation and Training Command, or T2COM. The command will have its headquarters in Austin, Texas, which is where Futures Command has its headquarters. Lt. Gen. David Hodne, most recently deputy commanding general of futures and concepts at Futures Command, is slated to receive a fourth star and lead the new command.

Elements of the former Training and Doctrine Command are expected to remain at Joint Base Langley-Eustis.

Training and Doctrine Command was created on July 1, 1973. Since then, the command has shaped the Army’s people, George said. “Every soldier in our formation … has been trained, developed and impacted by this command,” he said. “They learn what right looks like at TRADOC and carry those habits and lessons with them.”

The command’s recent accomplishments include improving basic combat training to better emphasize physical fitness, weapons proficiency and discipline, and incorporating battlefield realities such as drone and counter-drone systems into soldier training, George said.

The command fought “tough recruiting headwinds” and upheld the Army profession, he said. “TRADOC is an organization that delivered things that always matter—winning doctrine and leaders who thrive in uncertainty,” George said.

In his remarks, Brito emphasized the importance of adapting for the future fight, calling the merger of the two commands a “necessary change” that will “sharpen the warfighting capabilities in our units and deliver a unity of effort that ensures our Army will beat … any adversary anywhere, anytime in the world.”

The Training and Doctrine Command team has been working on the transition since May, said Brito, whose retirement ceremony is scheduled for Oct. 3. “I was amazed every day at the dedication, commitment and professionalism this team displayed on a routine basis,” he said.

Through it all, the team exemplified the command’s motto, “Victory Starts Here,” Brito said. “TRADOC drove change like no other Army institution,” he said, citing as examples Army doctrine and concepts and the development of the so-called Big Five.

Developed in the late 1970s and 1980s, the Big Five are the AH-64 Apache and UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters, the M1 Abrams main battle tank, the M2 Bradley Fighting Vehicle and the Patriot air defense missile system. Representing the Army’s first major weapons system acquisitions since before the Vietnam War, the Big Five remain critical weapons and systems in the Army today.

“For years following the Big Five up until present day, this command prepared a professional and lethal Army, and it will continue to,” Brito said. “This command ensured our profession remained strong and those we trained remain ready.”

Brito called on his team to be “very proud” of what they’ve accomplished. “I could not have been prouder of how this team has remained strong and set the conditions for success at T2COM,” he said. “You will be an integral part of the next chapter yet to be written. You will build the first layer of bricks, ensuring that our great U.S. Army is ready to fight at any time. Our security depends on it, our warfighting readiness depends on it, and guess what? Our soldiers deserve it.”