The program will begin promptly at 2 p.m. at the facility located at 1510 Drive F.E. Wright Blvd. in Jackson.
Brigadier Gen. Robert A. Harris will relinquish command of the brigade to Colonel Jeffrey H. Holmes, recent commander of the 278th Armored Cavalry Regiment headquartered in Knoxville. He was named commander of the Engineer Brigade earlier this year.
Brig. Gen. Harris, who has commanded the brigade since early 2006, has accepted the position of assistant adjutant general at National Guard Headquarters in Nashville.
Col. Holmes brings 32 years of military experience to the Engineer Brigade, joining the Tennessee National Guard as an enlisted man in 1979. Holmes turned over command of the 278th ACR to Col. Franklin McCauley in ceremonies last month, having led the regiment during its deployment to Iraq in 2010, and as commander of the 3rd Squadron, headquartered in Cookeville, when it deployed in 2004-2005.
Holmes received a bachelor of arts degree in architecture from the University of Tennessee in 1984. He was commissioned Field Artillery from the Tennessee Military Academy’s Officer Candidate School in 1983. His military education includes the Armor Officer Basic Course at Fort Knox, Ky., in 1986; the Armor Advanced Course, Fort Knox, Ky., in 1995; and Command and General Staff College at Fort Leavenworth, Kan., 2003.
Among his awards Col. Holmes holds the Bronze Star Medal, Meritorious Service Medal, Army Commendation Medal with Oak Leaf Cluster, Army Achievement Medal, Tennessee National Guard Distinguished Service Medal, Tennessee National Guard Commendation Ribbon, and Tennessee National Guard Individual Achievement Ribbon.
