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MEDIA ADVISORY
May 2, 2018
Contact: Maj. W. B. Phillips, II
State Public Affairs Officer
Arkansas National Guard
501-212-5020 / 501-590-0318
william.b.phillips18.mil@mail.mil
39th Infantry Brigade Combat Team welcomes new commander ~Shillcutt assumes command of Arkansas National Guard’s largest subordinate unit
WHO: The Arkansas National Guard
WHAT: The 39th Infantry Brigade Combat Team Change of Command Ceremony
WHEN: Saturday, May 5, 2018, 11:00 a.m.
MEDIA MUST RSVP NO LATER THAN 3 P.M. FRIDAY, MAY 4, 2018 AND ARRIVE AT THE MAIN GATE OF CAMP ROBINSON MANEUVER TRAINING CENTER NO LATER THAN 10:15 A.M., SATURDAY, MAY 5, 2018 FOR AN ESCORT TO THE EVENT.
WHERE: The ceremony will be held in front of Kordsmeier Hall at Camp Robinson Maneuver Training Center. This will be an outdoor ceremony. In the event of rain the ceremony will be at the Army Aviation Support Facility.
WHY: CAMP ROBINSON MANEUVER TRAINING CENTER, Ark. – Col. Cary A. Shillcutt, of Benton, Ark., will accept command of the Arkansas National Guard’s 39th Infantry Brigade Combat Team in a change of command ceremony at Camp Robinson Maneuver Training Center on Saturday, May 5, 2018.
The new role assigns Shillcutt with responsibility over the 3,000-Soldier brigade, which is headquartered at Robinson Maneuver Training Center in North Little Rock, with over 40 units in communities all across the state. Affectionately known as the “Bowie Team,” the 39th is the largest subordinate command in the Arkansas National Guard.
Shillcutt has served in a wide variety of command and staff assignments throughout his military career. He recently mobilized and deployed to Kosovo in 2017-2018 as the Military Assistant to the Kosovo Forces (KFOR) Chief of Staff serving in a joint and multi-national NATO Division HQs.
Col. Michael Spraggins of Hot Springs, Ark., the outgoing commander, assumed command of the 39th in November, 2014. He lead the brigade’s efforts in three overseas missions including its most recent deployment as the command element for Multinational Battle Group East in support of the NATO mission peacekeeping mission in Kosovo.
In his civilian career, Spraggins works as a public school educator for seventeen years, including seven years in school administration. Spraggins’ next military assignment will be working as operations and planning officer for the United States Army European Command and will be stationed in Wiesbaden, Germany.
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