Photo By Barbara Gersna | Lt. Col. Michael R. Cooper speaks at the Change of Command Ceremony where he took...... read more read more
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FORT KNOX, Ky. - Special Troops Battalion, 1st Theater Sustainment Command, conducted a change of command ceremony, June 21.
Lt. Col. Michael R. Cooper, assumed command of the battalion during a ceremony presided over by Maj. Gen. Eric P. Shirley, commanding general, 1st TSC.
Shirley praised the outgoing commander, Lt. Col. Julio J. Reyes, sharing some of the battalion’s accomplishments under his leadership.
“Today we celebrate the Reyes family as we say good-bye,” he said.
The commanding general addressed an audience of family, friends, Soldiers, and members of the Fort Knox community about what Reyes accomplished since 2022.
“Julio Participated in multiple exercises, led Soldiers through historic events in the Middle East, moved five deployment teams forward in support of normal contingencies and in response to October 7th,” Shirley said.
He has also witnessed the future of Army technology. “Recently returning from Native Fury, where we demonstrated the use of autonomous vehicles across the Trans Arabian Peninsula,” he said.
Shirley wished Reyes well as he moves on to his next assignment as the chief of the logistics branch at Human Resources Command.
Reyes thanked his wife Amy and daughters for their support over the past two years. In addition to being an Army spouse, she parents five and is completing her final year of law school at the University of Louisville Brandeis School of Law. While managing all these roles, Amy often accompanied Julio to community and Soldier and Family Readiness Group events.
The commanding general presented Reyes with a Meritorious Service Medal for his dedication and commitment to the command. He also presented Amy with a parting gift acknowledging her support to Julio.
Cooper, a Woodburn, Oregon native is now responsible for the wellbeing of Soldiers, Civilians and the entire “First Team Family.”
After being welcomed by Shirley, the new STB commander, Cooper shared the traditional first order to the troops “All policies and procedures remain in effect,” he said.
“I want to thank all of you who organized and participated in today’s ceremony,” Cooper added.
He continued with a brief introduction and expressed his excitement about leading the STB and he and Samantha’s newest Army assignment.
Cooper arrived after serving as chief, logistics division for Brooke Army Medical Center at Fort Sam Houston, Texas.
Blackjack, the command mascot, was outside with his handler, Arvil Dobson during the ceremony. The mule stood for photos with attendees, including his first with the Coopers.
Members of the STB include Soldiers and Department of the Army Civilians working at the main command post at Fort Knox and at the 1st TSC operational command post at Camp Arifjan, Kuwait.
The 1st TSC is America’s only permanently deployed sustainment command which provides centralized sustainment Command and Control and executes predictive and precise operational-level sustainment to the Army, Joint Force, and Unified Action Partners to enable multi-domain operations in support of the Combatant Command (USCENTCOM) and the Theater Army/Combined Forces Land Component Command in 21 countries in the Middle East.
| Date Taken: | 06.24.2024 |
| Date Posted: | 06.24.2024 13:42 |
| Story ID: | 474687 |
| Location: | FORT KNOX, KENTUCKY, US |
| Hometown: | WOODBURN, OREGON, US |
| Web Views: | 48 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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