HUNTSVILLE, Ala., -- The Office of the Program Manager-Saudi Arabian National Guard welcomed its incoming Program Manager and paid tribute to the departing PM at a Change of Charter ceremony in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, July 14.
Brig. Gen. (P) Frank Muth assumed the title of PM for OPM-SANG from outgoing PM Brig. Gen. Paul Laughlin.
Gen. Dennis Via, Commanding General of the Army Materiel Command served as host for the ceremony. OPM-SANG, which is part of AMC, has a 43-year history and its role is to assist the Ministry of National Guard modernization efforts to develop a more capable, self-sufficient defense force while enhancing the vital partnership between the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the United States.
The ceremony was also an occasion for OPM-SANG and the Army to bid farewell to Laughlin. During his 31-year career Laughlin served in several armor assignments and held critical DoD command and Middle East assignments. During the last of his many deployments, he served as the Senior Military Advisor for the Afghanistan Minister of Defense during Operation Enduring Freedom. As the PM for OPM-SANG, Laughlin oversaw the establishment of the first combat aviation brigade, the modernization of two new LAV brigades in the Eastern Province, the development of a combat training center and the establishment of a Command and General Staff College.
Laughlin leaves OPM-SANG in the hands of Muth who was previously the director of the Army Quadrennial Defense Review Office in the Office of the Deputy Chief of Staff, G-8, at the Pentagon.
Dignitaries from the American Embassy, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, and other foreign and U.S. stakeholders in the country attended.
OPM-SANG is a subordinate organization of the U.S. Army Security Command, which executes the Army's security assistance and foreign military sales program.
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