FORT BLISS, Texas (KFOX14/CBS4) — Brig. Gen. Brandon Anderson has been nominated to become the next commanding general of Fort Bliss and the 1st Armored Division, officials announced.
Anderson, who recently completed his assignment as commander of the National Training Center and Fort Irwin in California, will also take command of Joint Task Force-Southern Border. The task force includes about 8,000 service members deployed across nearly 2,000 miles of difficult terrain along the southern border.
He will succeed Maj. Gen. Curtis Taylor, who will move on to serve as deputy commander of U.S. European Command, a three-star position, officials said.
Taylor said Anderson’s background at the National Training Center and Fort Irwin will help him lead the division, the installation and the border mission.
“Protecting the homeland is the top priority of our national leadership, and Brandon’s selection is a clear indication that the Army values this mission,” Taylor said. “His experience at the National Training Center, the Army’s premier combat training center, combined with his leadership as a senior commander at Fort Irwin, will be invaluable.”
Anderson has previously served with the 1st Armored Division on three separate occasions.
What a privilege it is to be coming back and joining Old Ironsides and the El Paso community,” Anderson said. “Having served three separate times with the mighty 1st Armored Division, it is the Army my family and I have known. We couldn’t be more excited to join the team.
The leadership transition comes as Fort Bliss soldiers support missions in Europe, the Arabian Gulf and along the U.S. southern border.
Taylor has led the 1st Armored Division for 27 months. During that time, he deployed the division to Europe for nine months and oversaw the relocation of the Joint Task Force-Southern Border headquarters from Fort Huachuca, Arizona, to Fort Bliss.
“My wife and I have loved the special relationship between Fort Bliss and El Paso and will miss this wonderful community here in the Borderland,” Taylor said. “El Paso has become our home.”
The 1st Armored Division will hold a combined promotion ceremony for Taylor, who will be promoted to lieutenant general, and a division change-of-command ceremony at 8:30 a.m. Friday, Oct. 30, at the 1st Armored Division Parade Field.
RECOMMENDED: Fort Bliss ceremony honors POWs and those still missing in action
Sign up to receive the top interesting stories from in and around our community once daily in your inbox.