Maj. Gen. John B. Richardson IV, Deputy Commanding General, III Corps and Fort Hood, provides remarks prior to promoting Lt. Col. Bryan W. Frizzelle to the rank of Colonel in a ceremony held at 1st Armored Division Headquarters at Fort Bliss, Texas Oct. 16. Frizzelle is one of 14 Lieutenant Colonels from across the U.S. Army selected to serve in a higher grade in a new Army Talent Management program being implemented globally. Richardson was a Cadre member at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, N.Y. when Frizzelle was a Cadet over 20 years ago. (U.S. Army photo by Staff Sgt. Nicholas Brown-Bell)

Lt. Col. Bryan W. Frizzelle's son pins a new shoulder board to his father's Army Service Uniform coat during a special promotion ceremony held at 1st Armored Division Headquarters at Fort Bliss, Texas Oct. 16. Frizzelle is one of 14 Lieutenant Colonels from across the U.S. Army selected to serve in a higher grade in a new Army Talent Management program being implemented globally under the brevet program. (U.S. Army photo by Staff Sgt. Nicholas Brown-Bell)

Lt. Col. Bryan W. Frizzelle's daughter and son pin new shoulder rank insignia to their father's Army Service Uniform shirt during a special promotion ceremony held at 1st Armored Division Headquarters at Fort Bliss, Texas Oct. 16. Frizzelle is one of 14 Lieutenant Colonels from across the U.S. Army selected to serve in a higher grade in a new Army Talent Management program being implemented globally under the brevet program. (U.S. Army photo by Staff Sgt. Nicholas Brown-Bell)

Maj. Gen. John B. Richardson IV, Deputy Commanding General, III Corps and Fort Hood, administers the oath of office to Lt. Col. Bryan W. Frizzelle to finalize his promotion to Colonel in a special ceremony held at 1st Armored Division Headquarters Oct. 16. Frizzelle is one of 14 Lieutenant Colonels from across the U.S. Army selected to serve in a higher grade in a new Army Talent Management program being implemented globally under the brevet program. Frizzelle currently serves as the 1AD G3 Operations Chief. Richardson served as a Cadre member at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point when Frizzelle was a Cadet over 20 years ago. (U.S. Army photo by Staff Sgt. Nicholas Brown-Bell)

Lt. Col. Bryan W. Frizzelle poses outside 1st Armored Division Headquarters prior to his promotion ceremony Oct. 16. Frizzelle is one of 14 Lieutenant Colonels from across the U.S. Army selected to serve in a higher grade in a new Army Talent Management program being implemented globally under the brevet program. Frizzelle currently serves as the 1AD G3 Operations Chief. Maj. Gen. John B. Richardson IV, III Corps and Fort Hood Deputy Commanding General, promoted Frizzelle to the rank of Colonel in a special ceremony at 1AD Headquarters Oct. 16. Richardson served as a Cadre member at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point when Frizzelle was a Cadet over 20 years ago. (U.S. Army photo by Staff Sgt. Nicholas Brown-Bell)

FORT BLISS, TX—Lt. Col. Bryan W. Frizzelle, 1st Armored Division Operations and Training Officer and native of Columbia, Maryland, was promoted to Colonel by Maj. Gen. John B. Richardson IV, deputy commanding general, III Corps and Fort Hood, Texas, in a ceremony held at 1st AD headquarters Oct. 16.

Frizzelle was one of 14 Lieutenant Colonels selected by the Army Talent Management process approved by the Secretary of the Army to receive a Brevet promotion to help move Army officers toward a more flexible career path and allow the Army to fill critical shortages with officers who possess the right talent.

The Brevet promotion program is a temporary promotion in which officers of junior grade can serve one grade higher, wear the rank, and are paid at the higher grade when assigned to a critical position.

Frizzelle was promoted to Colonel to fill the Division G3 Operations Chief position.

“This is humbling and a huge honor,” said Frizzelle. “It inspires me to work even harder for this division and installation and to invest even more time in mentoring and developing junior leaders. The Army promotes based on potential, and I have been blessed to have several senior leaders invest time and energy into developing my potential. I don’t take this lightly, and it is my duty to pay it forward in what I invest in those who serve under me now and in the future.”

When talking about previous assignments, Frizzelle felt his positon as a battalion commander was the most rewarding.

“Every command is unique and had its own opportunities and challenges,” said Frizzelle. “In my case, I took command of a Stryker Rifle Battalion, 3-41 IN Rifles, trained it at higher collective training events and certified its readiness at a National Training Center rotation in preparation for a combat deployment. While at NTC, our brigade learned it had been identified to convert from a Stryker Brigade to an Armored Brigade Combat Team and would no longer deploy. This was a pivotal moment where esprit de corps could plummet. Our leaders instead found it to be an opportunity, and we leaned into it and had a blast building the personnel, supply, maintenance and training readiness systems of a new combined arms battalion, 4-70 AR Thunderbolts.”

Frizzelle graduated from the United States Military Academy (West Point) in 2002 and has over 18 years of service. Some of his mentors include: retired General Martin Dempsey, Lt. Gen. Gary Volesky, Brig. Gen. John Meyer, Maj. Gen. Patrick Matlock, Maj. Gen. John Richardson and Col. Jeff Thompson. Each had major contributions in grooming Frizzelle into the leader he is today. He feels truly blessed in having crossed paths with these leaders.

Richardson was chosen to do the honors of promoting Frizzelle because they met over 20 years ago when Frizzelle was a Cadet at West Point. He says Richardson taught him about not being a zero defect leader and the power of second chances. Richardson also taught him about being available, and never being too busy to find the time to coach or mentor someone who seeks advice.

“I saw a bundle of potential in him,” said Richardson. “He really does care about people, and that is what leadership is all about, knowing your people and caring about your people.”

In 2019, the Army identified 225 critical positions as brevet positions and this program is being used as an incentive for retention of officers whom the Army has invested in their education and experience.

The Army opened up 225 brevet positions during the 2020 assignment cycle and will increase up to 770 in the 2021 assignment cycle. Officers will have visibility of brevet positions for which they are eligible in the Army Talent Alignment Process marketplace. Officers in a promotable status will retain the Brevet rank, even if they leave the position they were promoted for.

As the Army continues to implement new programs aimed at attracting and retaining talented soldiers like Frizzelle, the Army will also continue to develop its most promising leaders.