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Third Army command passes to Lt. Gen. Brooks

  • Published
  • Third Army/U.S. Army Central PAO
FORT McPHERSON, Ga --  More than 500 people were in attendance here June 3 as Lt. Gen. William G. Webster relinquished command of Third Army to Lt. Gen. Vincent K. Brooks in a change of command ceremony at Hedekin Field.

Army Chief of Staff General Martin E.Dempsey presided over the ceremony.

"The international security environment is constantly changing," said Dempsey. "The coming decade will bring with it a host of challenges and opportunities, most of which are not yet visible to us, most of which will likely emanate from the critical part of the world that happens to be Third Army's neighborhood."

"There is absolutely no one more qualified to lead Patton's Own into the future than Vince Brooks," Dempsey said.

Brooks will be the first Third Army commander to command from the new Patton Hall headquarters building at Shaw Air Force Base, S.C.
"Today's ceremony has an extra measure of historic significance," Brooks said. "Third Army bids farewell to Atlanta, closing a long chapter of service here. I am honored to return to this distinguished unit where I served earlier in my career and to have the privilege of commanding it as the next chapter of history begins."

As commander of the 1st Infantry Division based out of Fort Riley, Kan. Brooks recently returned from serving in Iraq as the Commanding General of the U.S. Division-South. Throughout his 30 years of military service Brooks has also served as Chief of Army Public Affairs, acting commanding general of the 1st Cavalry Division and deputy commander of III Corps and Fort Hood.

Brooks congratulated Webster on his years of service and expressed his thanks to everyone for being a part of today's ceremony. Brooks said he is excited to rejoin Third Army, where he first served as a colonel.

Third Army serves as the Army's longest continuously deployed war fighting headquarters, currently operating from five distinct locations to include its Main Command Post here, Forward Command Post in Kuwait, ARCENT Support Element-Iraq, ARCENT Coordination Support Element- Afghanistan, and transitioning to its new Main Command Post at Shaw AFB.

In addition to sustaining the war fighter in operations in Afghanistan and Iraq, Third Army participates in military to military engagements with our partner nations during Theater Security Cooperation events. The TSC program focuses on enhancing partner capacity, fostering regional cooperation and ensuring contingency access for full spectrum operations within Third Army's 20-country area of Responsibility.

Third Army has participated in TSC events in Central and South Asia, and the Middle East and has more than 100 TSC events scheduled this year.

During the ceremony Webster was awarded the Distinguished Service Medal and concluded his 37 year career.

Third Army will conduct an uncasing ceremony June 10 at the new Patton Hall located at Shaw AFB. Brooks will perform the ceremony representing the presence of the command and symbolizing the start of operations in a new location.

The uncasing ceremony symbolically marks the command's permanent presence in South Carolina's and establishes Shaw AFB as the new base of operations for Third Army.