‘Highlanders’ welcome newest command team addition
Sgt. Maj. Frank Wilson, brigade operations sergeant major of 4th Brigade Combat Team, 1st Armored Division, prepares to order the formation of troops Friday during the unit’s change of responsibility ceremony between Command Sgts. Maj. Richard R. Clark and Thomas W. Eppler at East Fort Bliss. Photo by Spc. Brandon A. Bednarek, 4th BCT, 1st AD Public Affairs.
Spc. Brandon A. Bednarek,
4th BCT, 1st AD Public Affairs:
Nearly three months after welcoming a new commander, the 4th Brigade Combat Team, 1st Armored Division, hailed its newest command team addition during a change of responsibility ceremony Friday in front the unit’s headquarters building at East Fort Bliss.
After being officially charged with his duties as the unit’s senior-enlisted adviser, Command Sgt. Maj. Richard R. Clark, an airborne infantryman, assumed responsibility of the “Highlander” Brigade Friday morning from Command Sgt. Maj. Thomas W. Eppler.
“As we say goodbye to one outstanding noncommissioned officer, we welcome another with Command Sgt. Maj. Richard Clark,” said Col. Terry P. Cook, the brigade commander. “The path ahead will be unique, but I have every bit of confidence that [Clark] will build upon the accomplishments and successes of Command Sergeant Major Eppler.”
Command Sgt. Maj. Richard R. Clark, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 1st Armored Division, accepts the “Sword of the Noncommissioned Officer” from Col. Terry P. Cook, brigade commander, during the brigade’s change of responsibility ceremony Friday in front of the “Highlander” headquarters building at East Fort Bliss. Clark assumed responsibility of the armored unit from Command Sgt. Maj. Thomas W. Eppler. Photo by Staff Sgt. Mike C. Norris, 4th BCT, 1st AD Public Affairs.
Arriving to the unit last May, Eppler, who led the armored brigade on their last deployment to Iraq in support of Operation New Dawn, has spent the last 18 months serving as the third command sergeant major in the brigade’s history.
“The command sergeant major sets the example day-in and day-out through his professionalism and exemplary duty performance. He oversees discipline, is the expert on all training, and is the primary confidant and adviser to the commander,” said Cook. “Command Sergeant Major Eppler has been all of these things and much more to the 4th Armored Brigade Combat Team. … He is a true professional that embodies everything that is great about our NCO Corp.”
Soldiers who represented their battalions by standing in formation were a visual example to all those in attendance of the discipline and impact that Eppler bestowed on the brigade, a true testament to his leadership abilities and dedication, said Cook.
Receiving the Legion of Merit for his exceptional service to the unit and its Soldiers, Eppler and his family will head to Fort Campbell, Ky., where he will become the standard bearer for the historic “Bastogne Brigade,” the 1st Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division.
Short URL: http://fbmonitor.com/?p=14841
