FORT HUACHUCA, Ariz. – U.S. Army Garrison hosted a change of responsibility ceremony bidding farewell to Command Sgt. Maj. James J. Prasse and welcoming Command Sgt. Maj. Clark A. Kuhling, Dec. 7, 2021, on Brown Parade Field here.
"The garrison command sergeant major is a key and integral position," said Col. Jarrod Moreland, garrison commander.
The ceremony marks important milestones for both senior enlisted leaders, he said.
“A day in the life of a [Fort] Huachuca garrison command sergeant major is absolutely fascinating and often extraordinary,” Moreland said.
In a single day, a garrison command sergeant major might attend promotion boards, a neighborhood gas or water leak, coordinate efforts during a wildfire, manage access control policies, render honors at a military burial, host meet-and-greet events with professional athletes and television personalities; and learn about the mating patterns and habits of the lesser long-nosed bat, one of the Fort’s protected species.
“For the past two years, we have been blessed by the superb leadership of Command Sergeant Major James Prasse,” Moreland said, adding that it takes a particular type of leader to excel in the garrison environment.
"Command Sergeant Major Prasse always had mine and the installation's best interest at heart.
"You will truly be missed," Moreland said to Prasse.
Reflecting on the change of responsibility ceremony, Prasse said passing the colors and relinquishing authority this time was bittersweet as his last assignment capping off 26 years of military service.
He proudly said his favorite moments as the garrison command sergeant major here was watching the team, comprised of military and civilians, work together during the initial onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“We saw our airfield operations work with the U.S. Army Intelligence Center of Excellence and Training and Doctrine Command," Prasse mentioned as an example. "They not only continued travel for advanced individual training Soldiers to arrive here and be trained, they also got them to their first unit of assignment.”
Since joining in 1995, Prasse said he has a lot to be proud of from his career as a noncommissioned officer.
“There are so many great events and missions that I have been a part of throughout my career that it is difficult to identify a single thing I will miss,” he said smiling as he thought of his time with the Army.
“I'll miss the comradery that comes with being a Soldier," Prasse reminisced.
With the guidon and responsibility officially passed, Moreland welcomed Kuhling to Team Huachuca.
"Clark has the experience, knowledge and leadership acumen that we need here as our garrison command sergeant major," Moreland said.
Kuhling comes to Fort Huachuca from a battalion command sergeant major position with the 307th Military Intelligence Forward Collection Battalion in Vicenza, Italy, providing counterintelligence, human intelligence, and signals intelligence supporting all of Africa.
“I've always loved Fort Huachuca, Arizona," Kuhling said.
Kuhling said he attempted many times to get stationed where his intelligence career began in 1996.
“I’m honored, humbled and excited for the opportunity to serve as the Fort Huachuca garrison command sergeant major,” Kuhling said.
“I will do my best to make this the best assignment, training location or job for an individual's career while at the edge of the frontier.”
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Fort Huachuca is home to the U.S. Army Intelligence Center of Excellence, the U.S. Army Network Enterprise Technology Command (NETCOM)/9th Army Signal Command and more than 48 supported tenants representing a diverse, multiservice population. Our unique environment encompasses 946 square miles of restricted airspace and 2,500 square miles of protected electronic ranges, key components to the national defense mission.
Located in Cochise County, in southeast Arizona, about 15 miles north of the border with Mexico, Fort Huachuca is an Army installation with a rich frontier history. Established in 1877, the Fort was declared a national landmark in 1976.
We are the Army’s Home. Learn more at https://home.army.mil/huachuca/.
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