The sound of artillery fire will echo across communities surrounding Joint Forces Training Base (JFTB) and Los Alamitos Army Airfield (LAAAF) on Saturday, June 29, commemorating the change of command of the California Army National Guard’s storied 40th Infantry Division.
The traditional artillery salute by M119 howitzers of the Cal Guard’s Bravo Battery, 1st Battalion, 143rd Field Artillery Regiment, will highlight the formal ceremony at which Brig. Gen. Laura Yeager will formally assume command from Maj. Gen. Mark Malanka. With the assumption of command, Yeager will become the first woman in history to lead a U.S. Army Infantry Division.
The ceremony, which is open to the public, is scheduled to get underway at 11 a.m.
Test firing of the artillery will take place on Friday (June 28) and early Saturday morning in conjunction with ceremony rehearsals.
For additional information, please contact Col. (CA) Richard Lalor at (562) 795-2096 or via email at richard.w.lalor2.nfg@mail.mil, or Senior Airman Crystal Housman at (805) 458-3825 or via email at crystal.c.housman.mil@mail.mil.
Photo courtesy of the U.S. military
