New maintenance unit commander hopes to boost City, National Guard relations

Missouri National Guard Capt. James Frazier, left, accepts the Company B, 311th Brigade Support Battalion guidon from brigade commander Lt. Col. Jeffrey Sloan. The new commander said he looked forward to maintaining a "hometown guard" atmosphere to the battalion.
Missouri National Guard Capt. James Frazier, left, accepts the Company B, 311th Brigade Support Battalion guidon from brigade commander Lt. Col. Jeffrey Sloan. The new commander said he looked forward to maintaining a "hometown guard" atmosphere to the battalion.

The Missouri National Guard's Company B, 311th Brigade Support Battalion has a new commander.

Capt. James Frazier of St. Joseph has taken command of the unit in Fulton from Capt. Tim Grenke of Centralia. Grenke will now serve as an ammunition officer at the 311th Brigade Support Battalion headquarters in Lexington.

Frazier served with the Missouri Guard for more than nine years after enlisting as a combat medic in 2003. He deployed to Kosovo from 2008 to 2009 with 1st Battalion 229th Field Artillery of Maryville as a maneuver platoon leader. He was chosen to replace Grenke because of his "great leadership skill set," according to a release from the National Guard.

Company B, which provides maintenance support to the 110th Maneuver Enhancement Brigade, will be a new challenge for the captain, he said.

"The brigade support battalion is a logistics battalion; logistics is a huge part of the Army, we don't function without it," said Frazier. "In pursuing that branch, I thought it would make me a more well-rounded officer and give me a lot of insight on what makes a good leader."

Frazier said he would also like to use the position to push for more community involvement in the company, which moved from Centertown to Fulton in 2011. Frazier said one of the most unique things about his branch of the military was its local integration, referring to it as the "hometown guard."

"I've heard a lot of great things about the community support around Fulton, and one of the things we do in the National Guard is we like to do the community support events," Frazier said. "I'm hoping to solidify that community relations and provide any kind of support we can there."

To help the tornado-stricken people of Dumas and surroundings, donations can be made to the Delta Area Disaster Relief Fund, care of the Delta Area Community Foundation, P.O. Box 894, Dumas, AR, 71639, or through the Arkansas Community Foundation, 700 S. Rock St., Little Rock, AR, 72202.