Wednesday, Jul. 04, 2012

Royal Lions welcome new commander

The 3rd Battalion, 81st Armor Regiment changed command June 19 as Lt. Col. Jeffrey McCoy assumed command from Lt. Col. William Nuckols Jr. during a ceremony at Brave Rifles Field on Harmony Church.

McCoy most recently served as the executive officer to the commanding general at III Corps, Fort Hood, Texas.

He has deployed multiple times to Afghanistan, Iraq, and Bosnia in addition to assignments at Camp Garryowen, South Korea; Fort Polk, La.; Fort Stewart, Ga.; assistant professor of military science at Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colo., and the ILE and SAMS program at Fort Leavenworth, Kan.

Nuckols arrived at the battalion 24 months ago, while the battalion was zeroing in on the Base Realignment and Closure mission.

Nuckols oversaw the battalion as it cleared and closed the battalion’s footprint at Fort Knox. Concurrently, forward elements of the battalion were gaining a foothold at Harmony Church.

Six weeks before the battalion was fully reformed from the BRAC move, the Royal Lions provided instruction to 19D (scouts), 19K (tankers), and STO II Soldiers. The Royal Lions continued to support the 194th Armored Brigade as more Soldiers arrived. Once the battalion became fully regrouped, Nuckols guided his companies toward supporting elements of the 192nd Infantry Brigade.

The battalion’s footprint of support expanded to include the Panther Battalion, 2nd Battalion, 47th Infantry Regiment.

Today, 3rd Bn., 81st AR Regt., companies provide training support for all companies in the 194th and 192nd brigades.

Nuckols’ next assignment is as the deputy commanding officer, 4th Heavy Brigade Combat Team, “Longknife,” 1st Cavalry Division, Fort Hood.