Courtesy photo Lieutenant Col. Nanette Patton, the new Joint Product Manager for CBMS-MITS, speaks during the Change of Charter ceremony, March 5.

The MITS product management office, one of two within the CBMS Joint Project Management Office, is chartered with the responsibility of rapidly providing the Warfighter and the Nation with robust and affordable FDA-approved lifesaving medical countermeasure drug capabilities against chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear threats.

Gentile, CBMS-MITS Product Manager since 2008, passed the reigns of his ‘‘dream job” after thanking the hard-working military, civilian, and contract personnel within the unit.

Gentile’s new assignment is Chief, Virology Division, United States Army Medical Research Institute for Infectious Disease.

Colonel David Williams, Joint Project Manager for CBMS, acknowledged Gentile’s great contributions before passing the CBMS-MITS charter to Patton.

Williams also noted during the ceremony that Patton is well qualified to lead the CBMS-MITS team.

‘‘Lieutenant Col. Patton is a proven warrior and experienced member of the Army Acquisition Corps,” Williams said.

‘‘She has held numerous key positions within the Army Medical Command, The Office of the Surgeon General, and in support of Operations Desert Storm and Iraqi Freedom.

‘‘I have the utmost confidence in her exemplary military record, practical experience, and academic foundation.”

Patton was commissioned with highest honors as a 2nd Lt. in the Army Medical Service Corps in 1990, following completion of the Reserve Officer Training Corps Program at Georgetown University.

She earned a Bachelor of Business Administration Degree in Healthcare Administration from Marymount University and also holds two Master of Science degrees, one in Human Resource Management (Chapman University) and the other in Business Administration (Computer Information Systems) (Colorado State University).

Patton, a Cherry Point, NC, native, pledged to ‘‘give my best effort and continue moving MITS forward.”

She noted that she is honored to inherit a product management office that is so talented and competent.

Prior to arriving at CBMS-MITS, the 19-year veteran served as the Chief Information Officer for Madigan Army Medical Center at Ft. Lewis in Tacoma, Wash.