Lt. Col. Christopher Kim, Commanding Officer of the 1st Combat Engineer Battalion (1st CEB), USMC, Camp Pendleton, and Sgt. Maj. Marshall Cleveland spoke at the October 12, 2023 Cerritos City Council meeting.

     Lt. Col. Kim thanked the city for its support since “adopting” the 1st CEB in 2007. He also recounted personally delivering about 100 care packages at Christmas time to Marines deployed in a remote and dangerous part of Afghanistan, packages that were packed and shipped by members of the 1st CEB Adoption Committee. The gratitude of the Marines, knowing that the Cerritos community remembered and cared about them, was captured in his moving story.

     He and Sgt. Maj. Cleveland thanked the City of Cerritos, its businesses, and members of the 1st CEB Adoption Committee for the ongoing support through our programs, projects, events, and fundraisers, all of which benefit the battalion’s Marines and Sailors and their families.

     Chuck Sooter also spoke about the need for new members and invited community members to come to a meeting of the 1st CEB Adoption Committee, which meets the first Wednesday of the month at Liberty Park at 6 p.m.