The Rakkasans of 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division, welcomed Col. John Cogbill as the new brigade commander.
Tuesday, Col. Larry Burris relinquished command to Cogbill during a change of command ceremony. Burris is heading to Forces Command, Fort Bragg, North Carolina.
During Burris’ time in command, the Rakkasans went on two rotations to the Joint Readiness Training Center at Fort Polk, Louisiana, in the same year, conducted the first sea-based emergency deployment readiness exercise in the brigade’s history, were the first to use a mine-clearing line charge on Fort Campbell’s training range in more than a decade, and successfully deployed to Kosovo and Afghanistan.
“They continue to train and maintain the readiness expected and needed to keep our nation safe,” Burris said during his farewell speech. “Whether at Fort Campbell, Kosovo, or one of the locations in Afghanistan, Rakkasan Soldiers set the standard in everything they do.”
The ceremony also featured a flyover from the 101st Combat Aviation Brigade, who piloted several helicopters over the parade field. A Black Hawk hovered above the formation to display a Rakkasan flag in the doorway just before flying off.
Major General Andrew P. Poppas, commander of the 101st Airborne Division and Fort Campbell, congratulated Burris for a job well done and welcomed Cogbill.
Cogbill, whose previous assignment was with the 75th Ranger Regiment, Fort Benning, Georgia, is the perfect sort of leader to take on the responsibilities of the Rakkasans, Poppas said.
Burris took the time to thank his staff by name, attributing his success in command through the hard work of those under his leadership.
“On several occasions while deployed, people would say ‘it must be tough to lead with your battalions dispersed across seven geographic locations and three continents,’” Burris said. “Someone asked me this on Capitol Hill two weeks ago, and my response is always the same. Not at all. Because I have the opportunity to work with the best leaders in our Army.”
Cogbill thanked Poppas and Command Sgt. Maj. Todd Sims, the 101st Abn. Div. senior enlisted adviser, for the chance to lead the Rakkasans, and expressed his pride for the Soldiers in formation.
“I could not be more humble to be standing here,” Cogbill said. “I am in awe of the Soldiers you see on the parade field and by this unit’s history, pride and espirit de corps.”