FORT DRUM, N.Y. -- Lt. Col. James Scullion took command of 1-10 Attack Reconnaissance Battalion, 10th Combat Aviation Brigade, 10th Mountain Division (LI), during a ceremony at Fort Drum, New York, on February 8 and wasted no time building upon the unit's already high levels of readiness.
Within a week of taking command, Scullion was leading his battalion through an intense training weekend, as they executed advanced aerial gunnery ranges in preparation for many upcoming exercises and training center rotations.
"I want to continue all the hard work that this battalion is known for and build toward readiness," Scullion said. "That's what our priority is, that's what it's been in this unit, and that's what we want to continue. It means maintaining our aircraft, having challenging and realistic training, and taking care of our Families, so that we're ready to deploy at any time, if we get that call."
Scullion previously worked as the executive officer for the Inspector General at the Pentagon, but when orders came down with his next duty station, he said it felt like a homecoming. He grew up in the town of Elbridge, New York, just west of Syracuse, in the Finger Lakes.
Despite previously being a company commander in 1-10, he had never been stationed at Fort Drum before.
"I've always been keeping up on 1-10 Attack because of the time I spent in this unit, back when it was 3-3 Attack Reconnaissance Battalion based in Savannah, Georgia, before it was reflagged to 1-10 in 2008," Scullion explained. "I deployed with 10th CAB back then, as a company commander. 1-10 has always been a great unit, and I have great memories of being a part of 1-10 because of their reputation and history."
The new battalion commander said that his predecessor, Lt. Col. Adam Hodges, and his wife Valerie Hodges, had expertly balanced building the unit's readiness and taking care its Families. Moving forward, Scullion said he won't be missing a beat on either of these key aspects, because the two cannot exist separate from each other.
"Our Families are the foundation of Soldiers being able to focus on the mission at hand," he said. "Anytime that we can have events that include the Families, we'll do that. We'll also be making sure that our Families have all the resources they need so that, if we do get that short notice deployment, they're able to self-sustain and help each other out during those demanding times when their Soldier is away."
The battalion is currently in the midst of a month-long attack aerial gunnery and has a company that will travel to the National Training Center to support 3-10 General Support Aviation Battalion's rotation this spring. Also this spring, 1-10 ARB is slated to support 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division (LI), during their annual Mountain Peak exercise and 10th Combat Aviation Brigade's aviation-centered Falcon's Peak exercise. This summer, all training will culminate in a rotation to the Joint Readiness Training Center in Fort Polk, Louisiana.
"We have a very busy training pace coming up that will continue to help us build readiness across the unit," Scullion said. "I'm just extremely honored to be a part of the Dragons. They've got a great reputation, and I'm looking forward to being in their ranks and leading them toward being a ready attack battalion, ready to deploy, anywhere in the world."
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