Page 2 - Ft. Irwin High Desert Warrior 8-7-15

2 High Desert Warrior
August 7, 2015
Leadership
Susan Taylor is presented a bouquet of yellow roses during a change of command ceremony for her husband, Col. Scott Taylor (at left).
In his farewell remarks, Braga
gestured to a sign in front of the
garrison headquarters, saying, “in
a few moments, my name will
come down from that sign right
there and it reminds me of …
the great statesman Pericles, who
once said, ‘What you leave behind
is not what is engraved in stone
monuments, but what is woven
into the lives of others.’”
“I know I speak for Melanie,
the kids and I – that this garrison
team, this community, will always
be woven into our lives,” Braga said. to Fort Carson, Colo., where he
Taylor was born in Columbus,
Ga., and was raised on or near
Army installations in several
states. After receiving his com-
mission after graduating from
the U.S. Military Academy in
1992 with a bachelor’s of sci-
ence in international relations,
he began his Army career at Fort
Knox, Ky., where he completed
the armor officer’s basic course,
the dismounted armored scout’s
course and ranger school. His
first duty assignment as an armor
officer was at Fort Stewart, Ga.,
with the 24th INF DIV (Mecha-
nized). After reassignment in
1996 to Fort Hood, Texas, Taylor
commanded A Troop and later,
Headquarters and Headquarters
Troop, 1-7th Cavalry DIV. He
was then reassigned in 2000 to
Combat Maneuver Training
Center in Hohenfels, Germany
For more information go to www.irwin.army.mil
as an observer/controller. After
attending the Command and
General Staff College at Fort
Leavenworth, Kan., he returned
to the 1st CAV DIV, Fort Hood
in 2004, from where he deployed
to Iraq in 2006 during Operation
Iraqi Freedom II and again during
“the surge” in Iraq.
Upon redeployment, Taylor
served as executive officer and
deputy commanding officer of
1st Brigade Combat Team, 1st
CAV DIV. He then was assigned
served with the 4th INF DIV.
Later, as a battalion commander,
he led the 1st Combined Arms
Battalion, 68th Armor Regiment
during its deployment to Basra,
Iraq in March 2010, returning
all 1,100 of his Soldiers home
to their families the following
March.
After attending the U.S.
Army War College in Carlisle,
Pa., where he earned his second
master’s degree in national se-
curity studies, Taylor served on
the Army Staff in the Pentagon
as deputy chief of contingency
operations. He was then assigned
to Korea in 2013, serving as the
2nd INF DIV assistant chief of
staff for operations, before com-
ing here.
Taylor’s awards include the
three Meritorious Unit Awards,
six Meritorious Service Medals,
Thomas J. Schoenbeck, director of Installation Management
Command Central Region, congratulates Col. Jon Braga after
presenting him with the Legion of Merit for his tenure as Fort
Irwin garrison commander from July 2013 through July 2015.
Looking on is Braga’s wife, Melanie, who received the Army’s
Commander’s Award for Public Service.
two Army Commendation Med-
als, and two Army Achievement
Medals. He is authorized to wear Badge, and the Army Staff Iden-
the Combat Action Badge, the
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WHO WE ARE
From COMMANDER, page 1 Maj. Gen. Joseph Martin
Commanding General
Command Sgt. Maj. Noe Salinas
Post CSM
Col. Scott Taylor
Garrison Commander
Command Sgt. Maj. Carlos Esmurria
Garrison CSM
Pamela Portland
Public Affairs Director
High Desert Warrior Staff
Gustavo Bahena, Editor
(760) 380-2452
Leslie Ozawa, Staff Writer/Photographer
(760) 380-3450
Jason Miller, Staff Writer/Photographer
(760) 380-3073
Agustin Rodriguez, Editorial Assistant
agustin.rodriguez1@us.army.mil
Aerotech News
Emma Uribe, Graphic Designer
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