CAMP ATTERBURY, Ind. – A battalion of local soldiers has experienced two major changes in the past few weeks--they’ve moved their battalion and welcomed a new leader.
Soldiers from the 2nd Battalion, 338th Training Support Battalion, 205th Infantry Brigade moved the battalion colors from the Emmett J. Bean Center in Indianapolis to the Sgt. Charles H. Seston U.S. Army Reserve Center here May 31 as part of the Army’s realignment process. The realignment moves the battalion adjacent to its sister battalions under the 205th Infantry Brigade, First Army Division East.
“I am very proud to be a part of the long line of distinguished commanders of the 2-338th, and the one responsible for moving the colors,” said Lt. Col. Bryan S. Franklin, 2-338th battalion commander who relinquished command just three days after the move.
Franklin turned the command over to Lt. Col. Michael Midkiff June 3 in a small ceremony at Camp Atterbury where soldiers, families and friends welcomed the new leader and his family. Franklin will transition to Rock Island Arsenal, Ill., to serve as the executive officer to Lt. Gen. J. Michael Bednarek, First Army commanding general.
Midkiff hails from the 378th Combat Sustainment Support Battalion, Fort Indiantown Gap, Pa., where he served as the acting battalion commander. He will continue to ensure the 2-338th TSB exceeds the reputation at the Transportation Center of Excellence.
Midkiff, who has deployed three times, explained that he has mobilized through Camp Atterbury and personally understands the importance of training mobilizing soldier for deployment.
The 2-338th Training Support Battalion, 205th Infantry Brigade is a multi-component team of active duty, Reserve and National Guard soldiers dedicated to training soldiers in support of Operation New Dawn, Operation Enduring Freedom, Horn of Africa, Multinational Force and Observers, and Kosovo Forces rotations. The 205th Infantry Brigade executes readiness oversight, post-mobilization training and validation operations to provide trained and ready forces to regional combatant commanders for the full spectrum of operations in multiple theaters of operation.