1st Brigade Combat Team at Fort Drum gets a new commander

FORT DRUM — The new commander of the 10th Mountain Division’s 1st Brigade Combat Team had simple instructions for the 3,500 soldiers he now commands.

“Follow me and do as I do,” he told a formation of soldiers at a Sexton Field ceremony Thursday morning.

The colonel’s most recent assignment was as the Senior Service College Fellow to the Teachers College at Columbia University in New York City, but he is no stranger to the north country. Shortly after being commissioned into the infantry in 1988, Col. Stephen Michael was a platoon leader in the division’s 2nd Battalion, 87th Infantry Regiment and took part in Operation Restore Hope in Somalia.

The brigade returned this fall from an Afghan deployment under the command of Col. Willard M. Burleson, who was in command for 29 months. The brigade was credited with increasing security in a portion of eastern Afghanistan that hadn’t seen coalition forces.

Brig. Gen. Harry E. Miller Jr., senior commander at Fort Drum, attributed the success to the brigade commander.

“Under the leadership of Col. Burleson, these soldiers made great progress improving the lives of Afghans and providing stability to that country,” he said.

Col. Burleson, in turn, acknowledged the soldiers he commanded.

“Your service to our nation during this time of war marks you as special people, ones who will always be remembered along with all the other great generations in our country and Army’s history,” he said. “You truly are heroes and, forever, you will be appreciated and recognized in history for your contributions to our current fight overseas.”