First Team changes command

FORT HOOD, Texas - Maj. Gen. Anthony Ierardi, commanding general of the 1st Cavalry Division, receives the division’s colors from Lt. Gen. Donald Campbell, commanding general of Fort Hood and III Corps, during the First Team’s change of command ceremony June 14, on Cooper Field. (Photo by Sgt. Kim Browne, 1st Cav. Div. Public Affairs)

FORT HOOD, Texas – This time last year the 1st Cavalry Division Headquarters celebrated the Army’s birthday with a cake cutting and donning of the biggest patch in the Army to their right shoulders while deployed to Bagram, Afghanistan. This year while the Army celebrated it’s 237th birthday the division experienced the passing of it’s colors from one major general to another.

Maj. Gen. (promotable) Dan Allyn, former commanding general of the division, passed on the reins of America’s First Team to Maj. Gen. Anthony Ierardi, commanding general of the 1st Cav., June 14 on Cooper Field.

“It is indeed an honor and privilege to serve again with the tremendous Soldiers of the 1st Cavalry Division,” Ierardi said. “We will remain focused on our mission, on care for our Soldiers and their families, and on the team of teams that is the 1st Cavalry Division.”

Ierardi comes to the First Team from the Office of the Deputy Chief of Staff as the director of force management.

He graduated from Washington and Lee University with a degree in Business Administration and holds a Master of Arts degree in Latin American Studies from Georgetown University. He is also a graduate of U.S. Army Command and General Staff College and the U.S. Naval War College.

His prior assignments include serving as the director of Joint and Futures with the Office of the Deputy Chief of Staff and as the deputy commander for Programs of the Combined Security Transition Command-Afghanistan.

He commanded Joint Task Force North at Fort Bliss, Texas. He also served as director of capabilities developments at the U.S. Army Capabilities Integration Center, U.S. Army Training and Doctrine Command at Fort Monroe, Virginia.

Ierardi was the chief of staff of the 2nd Infantry Division at Camp Red Cloud, Republic of Korea. While in Korea he commanded the 1st “Iron” Brigade, 2ID.

The commanding general is no stranger to Fort Hood. He served as the operations officer of the division and had also commanded the 1st Squadron, 7th Cavalry Regiment “Gary Owen.”

Earlier in his career, he was a cavalry troop commander in the 2nd Squadron, 1nd Armored Cavalry Regiment in Bamberg, Germany and participated in Operation Desert Storm.

Maj. Gen. Ierardi has trained and served as a Latin American Foreign Area Officer. He was first a student attending the Mexican Army’s Command and General Staff College (Escuela Superior de Guerra) in Mexico City. Later he became the Aide-de-Camp to the commander of the U.S. Southern Command.

His awards include the Defense Superior Service Medal, Legion of Merit, Bronze Star, Defense Meritorious Service Medal, Meritorious Service Medal, Army Commendation Medal, and Army Achievement Medal.

Ierardi is married to Mrs. Angela Ierardi and they have two sons.

“[Ierardi] comes to us with a wealth of experience earned during tough and diverse assignments,” said Lt. Gen. Don Campbell, commanding general of III Corps and Fort Hood. “I am truly excited and honored to have Tony and Angela join the III Corps and 1st Cavalry Division Teams and I look forward to serving with both of them.”

Allyn carries on with his family to Fort Bragg, North Carolina to take command of the XVIII Corps.

“This is a tough day for Team Allyn, but as with every day serving America’s finest,  it’s one filled with inspiration,” Allyn said. “I am blessed to hand over the reins to an outstanding commander, a man of great intellect, vision, and proven leadership: Maj. Gen. Tony Ierardi.”

FORT HOOD, Texas - Col. Douglas Gabram, chief of staff for the 1st Cavalry Division, presents the colors, officers, noncommissioned officers, and Soldiers to the command during the division’s change of command ceremony June 14, on Cooper Field. (Photo by Sgt. Kim Browne, 1st Cav. Div. Public Affairs)

FORT HOOD, Texas - Command Sgt. Maj. Isaia Vimoto, command sergeant major of the 1st Cavalry Division, prepares to pass off the division’s colors during the Cav’s change of command ceremony June 14, on Cooper Field. (Photo by Sgt. Kim Browne, 1st Cav. Div. Public Affairs)

FORT HOOD, Texas - Maj. Gen. Dan Allyn, former commanding general of the 1st Cavalry Division, gives his closing remarks after relinquishing command of the division during the Cav’s change of command ceremony. (Photo by Sgt. Kim Browne, 1st Cav. Div. Public Affairs)

FORT HOOD, Texas - Maj. Gen. Anthony Ierardi, commanding general of the 1st Cavalry Division, gives a speech during the division’s change of command ceremony after taking command as the new commanding general of America’s First Team June 14, on Cooper Field. (Photo by Sgt. Kim Browne, 1st Cav. Div. Public Affairs)