The unit colors of the largest brigade in the Georgia Army National Guard changed hands in a ceremony held Feb. 2, 2025, in Macon, Georgia.

U.S. Army Col. Jason Baker relinquished command of the 48th Infantry Brigade Combat Team to Col. Nathaniel Stone, who hails from nearby Monticello, Georgia. Through the ceremony, Stone becomes the 30th commander of the unit numbering more than 4,000 Soldiers.

“It’s a bittersweet moment,” said Baker. “There is only one position to attend to when or if you make it back.”

Baker led the 48th IBCT through domestic response missions and military training since 2021. He commanded the brigade leading up to and through its 2024 deployment to multiple locations around the world.

“I hope you learned as much from me as I have learned from you all,” said Baker. “The brigade is lucky to have you [Stone]; you are the embodiment of the 48th Brigade.”

Stone entered the Georgia Army National Guard in 1998 as a private in the 48th Brigade. He studied at Georgia Military College in Milledgeville and North Georgia College in Dahlonega, commissioning in May of 2003. He fulfilled key assignments in the 48th IBCT, notably from 2017 to 2020 as battalion commander of the Cumming-based 3rd Battalion, 121st Infantry Regiment. Stone deployed with the 48th IBCT to Iraq from 2005-2006, and twice to Afghanistan from 2009-2010 and 2019.

Stone’s awards include the Bronze Star Medal with “V” device, the Bronze Star Medal with three oakleaf clusters, the Meritorious Service MEdal with three oak leaf clusters, the Army Commendation Medal with two oak leaf clusters, and the Army Achievement medal with one oak leaf cluster. He has also earned the Combat Infantryman Badge and the Parachutist Badge.

“This formation represents over 4,000 men and women who make this brigade the best IBCT in the National Guard,” said Stone. “We would not be here today if it were not for the hard work of so many dedicated men and women like you all. You put the mission first again and again. Thank you.”

The 48th Infantry Brigade Combat Team was originally organized on April 23, 1825, as the “Macon Volunteers, Georgia Volunteer Militia.”

The 48th IBCT brigade is composed of units whose history and battle honors predate the American Revolution. Units within the brigade have served in the American Revolutionary War, the War of 1812, American Civil War, Seminole War, Mexican Border Service, World War I, World War II, and Iraq and Afghanistan.

“Col. Baker, you have a team here that is top-of-the-bar,” said Stone. “I am lucky to have an opportunity to follow in your footsteps, and to continue the 48th Brigade’s 200-year legacy.”