Fort Rucker command changes hands

Credit: Jay Hare / jhare@dothaneagle.com

Brigadier General Anthony Crutchfield (center) and Major General James Barclay face eachother on the parade field as General Crutchfield prepares to accept the command flag during a change of command ceremony for the United States Army Aviation Center of Excellence at Fort Rucker on Thursday morning.

By: Ebony Horton | Dothan Eagle
Published: August 19, 2010

FORT RUCKER - The place where Brig. Gen. Anthony Crutchfield's first child was born and where he flew a formation of Hueys years ago officially became his home again Thursday, at least for the next two years.

Crutchfield was handed command of Fort Rucker from outgoing Maj. General James Barclay III, who was the first Alabama native to head the installation.

Both men, surrounded by their families and local and state officials, watched the formation of hundreds of soldiers and shared stories of their service at the post.

Barclay welcomed Crutchfield and thanked the soldiers and local communities for their support over his last two years in command.

Barclay is set to serve at the Pentagon after his departure from Fort Rucker.

"From the colonel to the private before me are the soldiers that keep our nation free. It's not about Barclay and Crutchfield. It's because of you that we were able to fly 400 helicopters a day, three periods a day," Barclay said.

"We're approaching logging 300,000 hours for the first time in 10 years. Without you (the soldiers), we would not be able to do what the Army has asked us to do."

Crutchfield comes to Fort Rucker from Suffolk, Va., as director of the Joint Center for Operational Analysis-Lessons Learned, U.S. Joint Forces Command.

He thanked Barclay for a smooth transition and agreed the ceremony was about the soldiers.

"This is where my daughter was born. Never would I have thought a couple years ago after flying a formation of Hueys and looking down that I would be serving here today. You don't have to be from Alabama to love Alabama," he said, smiling.

"As my friend Forrest Gump would say, 'that's all I have to say about that.'"

Fort Rucker command changes hands

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