A Kingsport native has been named commander of the Army National Guard's 278th Armored Cavalry Regiment.
Maj. Gen. Terry M. Haston, Tennessee's Adjutant General, today named Col. Franklin C. McCauley Jr. to head the regiment.
Many Southeast Tennessee residents serve in the 278th, which deployed in 2004 and 201o to Iraq.
McCauley now is deputy commander of the regiment. He will replace Col. Jeffrey Holmes, who was named the commander of the 194th Engineer Brigade in Jackson earlier this week.
"Col. McCauley is a combat veteran cavalry officer who has commanded at every level within the regiment," Haston said in a news release. "He brings a great deal of experience and professionalism to the job."
The 278th is Tennessee's largest command, with units stretching from Kingsport to Memphis, and is composed of more than 3,700 soldiers.
McCauley, a special agent with the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, enlisted in the Tennessee Army National Guard in 1981 and received his commission through the ROTC program at East Tennessee State University in 1983.
He holds bachelor's and master's degrees in criminal justice and has completed numerous military colleges. His awards include the Bronze Star and the Meritorious Service Medal.