YELLOWKNIFE - Joint Task Force North (JTFN) marked a new era with a change-of-command ceremony last Friday at the ceremonial circle.

A largely uniformed crowd gathered to bid farewell to former commander of JTFN, Brig.-Gen. Chris Whitecross.

Whitecross had held the position since July 2006. She's being replaced by Brig.-Gen. David Millar, who was previously director of support operations for the Strategic Joint Staff at the National Defence Headquarters in Ottawa.

The ceremony was presided over by Marc Dumais, commander of Canada Command. He said that the ceremony is a formal way of passing on responsibility of the position.

Whitecross will take the position of deputy commander of Canadian Operational Support Command in Ottawa as of next month.

She said she has mixed emotions about leaving her Yellowknife post and became tearful at one point during the ceremony.

"(I'm) sad. Mixed feelings. I'm ready to go, ready to tackle new challenges," she said. "I feel completely honoured and blessed."

Of her successor Brig.-Gen. Millar, she said he is perfect for the job.

"He has a real good strategic focus, a real global focus," said Whitecross.

Millar is new to the North but has taken to it quickly.

"It's vast, it's diverse and it's absolutely wonderful," he said.

Reflecting on some of the possible challenges of his position, Millar said accelerated growth in the North could lead to oil spills, the grounding of a cruise liner and possible negative effects to wildlife and the landscape - crises that could cause the military to mobilize.

"If you have to save lives quickly, you have to reach out," he said, adding the North's key strength lies in its "team approach."

Millar emphasized the importance of good relations with Northern communities, and other departments and countries with shared interests in the North.