The sound of artillery fire will echo across communities surrounding Joint Forces Training Base (JFTB) and Los Alamitos Army Airfield (LAAAF) on Saturday, Dec. 8, commemorating the change of command for the 79th Theater Sustainment Command of the U.S. Army Reserve. The ceremony is scheduled to get underway at 11 a.m.
The traditional artillery salute by M119 howitzers of the California Army National Guard’s Bravo Battery, 1st Battalion, 143rd Field Artillery Regiment, will highlight the formal ceremony at which Maj. Gen. Eugene J. LeBoeuf will formally assume command from Maj. Gen. Mark W. Palzer.
Test firing of the artillery will take place on Friday (Dec. 7) at 9 a.m. and on Saturday morning at 7:30 a.m. in conjunction with ceremony rehearsals.
LeBoeuf graduated as a Distinguished Military Graduate of the U.S. Army ROTC program and received a Regular Army commission in the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in May 1985. He is a graduate (magna cum laude) of Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology with a B.S. in Civil Engineering, Northwestern University with a M.S. in Industrial Engineering and Management Science, Stanford University with a M.S. in Civil Engineering, The University of Michigan with a Ph.D. in Environmental Engineering, and the U.S. Army War College with a Master of Strategic Studies.
In his civilian capacity, LeBoeuf serves as the Associate Department Chair, Director of Undergraduate Studies, and Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee. He has published over 50 technical publications, including four U.S. patents, and was a recipient of the U.S. National Science Foundation’s Faculty CAREER Award. He is a registered Professional Engineer in Missouri and Tennessee, and is a Board Certified Environmental Engineer.