10th Mountain Division change of command - Beagle wb.jpg

Lt. Gen. Michael E. Kurilla, right, XVIII Airborne Corps commander, passes the 10th Mountain Division (LI) colors to Brig. Gen. Milford Beagle Jr. during the division change of command ceremony July 12 at Wheeler-Sack Army Airfield. (Photo by Sgt. Brandon Cox, 10th Mountain Sustainment Brigade Public Affairs)

 

Brig. Gen. Milford Beagle returns to Fort Drum, assumes command of 10th Mountain Division

 

Mike Strasser

Fort Drum Garrison Public Affairs

 

FORT DRUM, N.Y. (July 13, 2021) -- Brig. Gen. Milford H. Beagle Jr. assumed command of the 10th Mountain Division (LI) from Maj. Gen. Brian J. Mennes during a ceremony July 12 at Wheeler-Sack Army Airfield, marking his second general officer assignment at Fort Drum.

Beagle previously served as the division’s deputy commanding general for support, and he deployed to Kuwait in support of Operation Inherent Resolve from 2017 to 2018. Prior to his return, he was the senior commander at Fort Jackson, South Carolina, and commanding general of the U.S. Army Training Center, where thousands of Soldiers attend basic training annually.

In 2019, the Department of Defense named Fort Jackson and the Greater Columbia Region as a Great American Defense Community. Fort Drum and the North Country Region was also recognized in that same class. Leaving one great community for another, Beagle said that he and his wife Pam are proud to once again call Fort Drum their home.

“Home is not a place, it is a feeling,” he said. “The feelings I have of being a part of this division, the feelings we have of once again being a part of this great community, and the feelings we have about doing our part to contribute to our great legacy, leads me to one conclusion. We are home.”

Officiating the change of command, Lt. Gen. Michael E. Kurilla, XVIII Airborne Corps commander, welcomed Beagle and his family back to Fort Drum and the North Country.

“Beags and Pam love Watertown, Fort Drum and the people of this community,” he said. “There is no doubt that Beags is ready for this moment, and there is no doubt that the Soldiers, NCOs and officers of the ‘Climb to Glory’ division are ready for the future, whatever it looks like.”

In his remarks, Beagle said that the 10th Mountain Division (LI) will continue to provide ready forces whenever and wherever they are required to deploy.

“We all must remember, our nation will never ask if we are ready,” he said. “They will expect it. We won’t wring our hands, we will roll up our sleeves. We are the blue-collar division for our Army and the Corps.”

Beagle said that it is the mission of the entire installation to strive for relevance every day and to reject complacency.

“Our great garrison team, our partners in excellence on this installation and our community will enable us to maintain our relevance,” he said. “We will laser focus on our people, on our Soldiers, our leaders, our families, our community and our civilians. After all, we recruit Soldiers, but we retain families and quality leaders. By taking care of this priority, everything else will fall into place.”