FORT DRUM, N.Y. -- Col. Kenneth "Dean" Harrison assumed command of the U.S. Army Garrison Fort Drum from Col. Bryan Laske during a ceremony Wednesday on Sexton Field.
Harrison had served multiple assignments at Fort Drum, and he said the return felt like a homecoming.
"It feels great to be back. I've got a lot of roots here at Fort Drum and in the local community," he said. "I've got 11 years with the 10th Mountain Division (LI) and eight of them here at Fort Drum, and they are the best years of my Army career."
On two deployments to Afghan-istan with the 10th Mountain Division (LI), Harrison was the analysis and control element chief and officer in charge of the Kandahar Intelligence Fusion Center and commander of Jalalabad Airfield / Forward Operating Base Fenty, while also serving as battalion commander for 4th Brigade Special Troops Battalion, 4th Brigade Combat Team.
His first assignment at Fort Drum was with 1st Brigade as the assistant intelligence officer, then served as intelligence officer for 10th Signal Battalion and later with 4th Battalion, 31st Infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade.
"I learned to be an intelligence officer at the tactical level here at the 10th Mountain Division," Harrison said. "I was here as a lieutenant and a captain back in 1996 to 2000. I also learned operational level intelligence here as a major and a lieutenant colonel."
Harrison most recently served as chief of counterintelligence at Headquarters in the Department of the Army's Office of the Deputy Chief of Staff (G-2) at the Pentagon.
Officiating the ceremony was Brenda Lee McCullough, Installation Management Command-Readiness director, who said that commanding a garrison is a tough business and requires a strong and inspiring leader. She said that outgoing garrison commander, Col. Bryan Laske, and his team, provided that exceptional service during his tenure.
"Bryan accomplished this while balancing the reality of a resource-constrained environment," she said. "Col. Laske would tell you that the many accomplishments he achieved during his command here at Fort Drum were due to the contributions of the installation team, but Bryan's leadership was a driving force for much of that success."
McCullough said that Laske led and managed all challenges through collaboration, strategic planning and partnerships. She said that when the garrison had an excess of personnel, Laske and his team established a strict and disciplined approach to reduce overages to an acceptable level while still hiring to fill critical vacancies. She also credited the garrison team for streamlining in- and out-processing services, providing Civilian Employees with training opportunities to improve leadership skills and replacing old infrastructure with state-of-the-art facilities that better support in-
stallation requirements.
Laske said that when he first received the assignment to Fort Drum garrison, he began receiving congratulatory emails that mentioned he was about to join a great team. He said he found that to be true.
"When you really see the excellence of this garrison is when they come together in a team effort," Laske said. "It's really an amazing thing to watch."
He also said he was grateful to reacquaint himself with many leaders at Fort Drum with whom he previously served at different times and places throughout his career.
Laske thanked his wife, Aniko, for establishing relationships in the community that helped him achieve his goals.
Maj. Gen. Walter E. Piatt, 10th Mountain Division (LI) and Fort Drum commander, thanked Laske for his leadership.
"You made the best garrison better," Piatt said. "You embraced this mission … and excelled."
Laske and his Family will travel to Stuttgart, Germany, where he will work at the Special Operations Command Europe.
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