Photo By Master Sgt. Jeff Lowry | Indiana National Guard Maj. Gen. Timothy Thombleson, right, receives the 38th Infantry...... read more read more
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EDINBURGH, Ind. -- In a peaceful transition of power, soldiers with the 38th Infantry Division, aka the Cyclone Division, changed commanders during a ceremony at Camp Atterbury on Saturday.
Indiana National Guard Maj. Gen. Timothy Thombleson, of Martinsville and the former 38th deputy commanding general of operations, took the division reins from Maj. Gen. Gordon L. Ellis, of Brown County, Ohio, who had commanded the division since February 2018.
“I’ve coined this division the Midwest best division,” said Thombleson during his ceremony speech. “Because it’s the best soldiers out of the Midwest, proven time and again.”
Part of that proof came when the two generals were instrumental in leading approximately 600 citizen-soldiers of the division to the Middle East in support Operation Spartan Shield from July 2019 to March 2020 where the division's soldiers provided leadership, command, control and staff analysis for more than 10,000 service members.
Ellis, the outgoing commander, thanked his soldiers for their resolve during his tenure and particularly during Middle East deployment.
“I have asked so much of you. I required you to do so many things, but I never did it unless it was required for mission success,” said Ellis in his speech. “You always rose to the challenge. You were agile; you were adaptive; you were proficient, and you were lethal. When the nation called on you, you were there. You are the strength of this nation, and you are the best of this nation.
More recently the division mobilized soldiers and medics closer to home to support the Indiana National Guard’s efforts to help protect residents of long-term care facilities across the state during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Prior to the Middle East deployment, division soldiers assisted with relief efforts in Texas and Florida following Hurricanes Harvey and Irma in September 2017.
The storied 38th Infantry Division fields four subordinate brigades within the Hoosier State with more than 8,000 citizen-soldiers. Aligned for training, the Cyclone Division coordinates with Army National Guard units in Michigan, Ohio, Kentucky, Tennessee and Delaware.
“I would add that leaders, such as the two gentlemen we have here that we’re honoring today, exemplify honor, integrity and accountability,” said Brig. Gen. Dale Lyles, the Indiana National Guard adjutant general and reviewing officer of the ceremony. “They have earned my trust, and the trust of all Hoosiers, to lead this great division.”
The Cyclone Division, one of 18 divisions in the U.S. Army and one of eight in the National Guard, provides fully manned, equipped, trained and expertly led units prepared to deploy and conduct unified land operations for combatant commanders and to respond to any domestic crisis in support of civil authorities.
Today, more than 103 years later since the division’s inception in 1917, 38th Infantry Division citizen-soldiers stand ready to carry on the tradition to serve their fellow Americans here at home or in harm’s way overseas.
| Date Taken: | 01.09.2021 |
| Date Posted: | 01.09.2021 16:27 |
| Story ID: | 386657 |
| Location: | EDINBURGH, IN, US |
| Hometown: | MARTINSVILLE, IN, US |
| Web Views: | 142 |
| Downloads: | 1 |
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