Eighth Army officially welcomed its new command sergeant major during an assumption-of-responsibility ceremony at U.S. Army Garrison Humphreys, South Korea, Sept. 4.
Command Sgt. Maj. Robert Cobb became the field army’s senior enlisted advisor in front of an audience practicing social distancing at the “Super Gym.” Audiences also watched the ceremony from a live broadcast on Eighth Army’s Facebook page.
Commanding general of Eighth Army, Lt. Gen. Michael Bills, presided over the ceremony that included the passing of the Eighth Army colors, which symbolize the heritage and history of the organization as well as unity and loyalty of its Soldiers. As the new Eighth Army CSM, Cobb is the keeper of the colors.
“As the CSM, I will make sure that we have trained and ready lethal forces that are ready to close in and destroy the enemy on any battlefield and win,” said Cobb. “I fully realize this cannot be done alone and we are fortunate to have a phenomenal partner and to be part of an extraordinary team. We can only win with our ROK partners by our side.”
Cobb comes to Korea from Texas where he served two years as the senior enlisted advisor of the 1st Armored Division and Fort Bliss. Prior to that, he served as the command sergeant major of 1st Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division and as the Train Advise Assist Command-South senior enlisted advisor in Afghanistan.
This is a return assignment to South Korea, as he served with 1st Battalion, 72nd Armored Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division, at Camp Casey, commonly known as “First Tank.”
“As a young scout in First Tank in 1996, I never in my wildest dreams thought that one day I would be standing here assuming the responsibility as the Eighth Army CSM,” Cobb said. “Back then I had a tight group of young noncommissioned officers who made up my squad and we did everything we could to make each other better and to assure our team members were trained, physically fit and prepared to fight tonight.”
A cavalry scout by trade, Cobb’s experiences include positions in plans, operations, as well as platoon sergeant and first sergeant positions in diverse Army units. He now serves as Eighth Army’s senior enlisted leader and spokesperson who enforces established policies and standards for Eighth Army Soldiers pertaining to training, performance, care, conduct, appearance, effective personnel utilization and management, and he ensures that subordinate leaders do the same.
Eighth Army is a field army that commands most U.S. Army forces in South Korea. Six major subordinate commands help make up Eighth Army, they are: 2nd Infantry Division, ROK-US Combined Division, 19th Expeditionary Sustainment Command, 35th Air Defense Artillery Brigade, 65th Medical Brigade, 501st Military Intelligence Brigade and 1st Signal Brigade. Eighth Army works side-by-side with its Republic of Korea Army counterparts to make up the strongest alliance in the world.
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