FORT CAMPBELL, Ky. – Maj. Gen. Robert F. Dees, retired, former commander of the 3rd Brigade, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) and current honorary commander of the 187th Infantry Regiment, visited leaders at the brigade headquarters on Fort Campbell, Ky., Aug. 23, 2013.
Dees’ visited the Rakkasans while at Fort Campbell to be the guest speaker for a graduation at the Staff Sgt. Glenn H. English Jr. Education Center.
The former Rakkasan leader commanded the brigade from June 1992 through November 1994. He commanded airborne, air assault, and mechanized infantry forces from platoon through division level; including two tours as company commander and regimental commander in the historic “Rakkasans,” the 187th Regimental Combat Team. Dees is a Distinguished Member of the regiment, and now serves as honorary colonel of the regiment for the Rakkasans.
“We have a saying, ‘Rakkasan for Life,’ that touches upon the fact that once you are assigned to this brigade, you truly never leave it,” said Col. J.B. Vowell, the current commander, 3rd Brigade Combat Team “Rakkasans.”
“The connective tissue of experience from our Rakkasan veterans instills honor, lineage, and history in our current generation and gives context to the reasons why we do what we do.”