Division West to conduct change of command ceremony
By Sgt. 1st Class Gary Stacy, Media and Community Relations, First Army Division West
Oct 14, 2009 - 6:38:01 PM
Blackanthem Military News
FORT HOOD, Texas - First Army Division West will welcome its fourth commanding general in a change of command ceremony tomorrow at 9:30 a.m. on Cameron Field.
Maj. Gen. Charles A. Anderson will assume command of Division West from Maj. Gen. Thomas G. Robinson.
Maj. Gen. Anderson most recently served as deputy commanding general of Third Army/United States Army Central at Camp Arifjan, Kuwait. In that assignment, he was involved in the planning and execution of the United States military drawdown in Iraq and the build-up in Afghanistan.
Maj. Gen. Robinson will return to First Army Headquarters at Fort Gillem, Ga., and resume his duties as First Army deputy commanding general.
Division West, a subordinate unit of First Army, trains and validates Army National Guard and Army Reserve Soldiers for deployment to combat or other contingency operations. The division also trains units of the active Army, U.S. Navy, U.S. Air Force, U.S. Marine Corps and United States partner nations, for a total of nearly 40,000 servicemembers every year. Since October 2007, Division West has mobilized more than 1,500 units and more than 85,000 Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen and Marines.
Division West moved to Fort Hood in August from Fort Carson, Colo., where it was established in 2006. The move co-locates the headquarters with two of its seven brigades, consolidating and maximizing training operations. The division expects to move a third brigade to Fort Hood next year.
Division West’s subordinate training brigades are the 120th Infantry and 166th Aviation Brigades at Fort Hood, the 181st Infantry Brigade at Fort McCoy, Wisc., the 191st Infantry Brigade at Fort Lewis, Wash., the 402nd Field Artillery Brigade at Travis Air Force Base, Calif., the 479th Field Artillery Brigade at Fort Sill, Okla., and the. 5th Armored Brigade at Fort Bliss, Texas. The seven brigades have a total of 49 battalions located throughout the western United States from the Mississippi River to the Pacific Ocean.
For more information about the change of command ceremony or to coordinate public affairs escort if required, contact Division West Public Affairs at (254) 553-4994/4997.