Story by Monty Thompson

Fort Riley bid farewell to garrison commander Col. Andrew Cole Jr.  and welcomed incoming commander Col. John Lawrence at a change of command ceremony at Riley’s Conference Center Wednesday morning.

Cole became the commander in July of 2013 and will be leaving Fort Riley to become the chief of staff of the Maneuver Center of Excellence at Fort Benning, Georgia.

“In order to be a great leader in the United State Army you’ve got to be a good person first, and I would tell you that Andrew Cole is a good person,” said Fort Riley commanding general Wayne Grigsby. “He set the example here for three years, and he really made Fort Riley and the 1st Infantry Division the best place to train, live, deploy from, and come come home to.”

Lawrence is taking command following an assignment as the garrison commander at Bagram Airfield, Afghanistan.