New commander takes charge of evolving brigade

By Sgt. 1st Class Jim Wagner

157th Brigade Public Affairs

A lifelong engineer is going back to his roots after assuming command of the 157th Maneuver Enhancement Brigade in a change of command ceremony Sunday in Milwaukee.

Col. Jeff Liethen of Dane, Wis., most recently the Wisconsin National Guard's director of installations management, replaces Col. Mark Michie of Harshaw, Wis., who has commanded the fledgling brigade since shortly after its inception in 2007, when the brigade transitioned from the 57th Field Artillery Brigade and 264th Engineer Group.

The brigade has come a long way in the ensuing three years, jumping from a concept on paper to a full-functioning brigade that has won the respect of Army trainers. Earlier this year, the 157th Maneuver Enhancement Brigade conducted warfighter training for the first time at Fort Leonard Wood's Maneuver Support Center in Kansas.

"I wanted us to be the best M-E-B," Michie said during remarks at the ceremony, held on a sunny day with the flags of numerous guidons from engineer and field artillery units under the 157th Maneuver Enhancement Brigade. "We went to the warfighter and I was told we were the best M-E-B through so far."

The Maneuver Enhancement Brigade is a relatively new concept. Part of the Army's plan to transform units to best accommodate missions necessary in the 21st century, the multi-function brigade is designed to command and control an area of operations, wherever that might occur, providing a flexible combat force to support brigade combat teams and other combat units.

The 157th Maneuver Enhancement Brigade is made up of more than 2,100 Soldiers specializing in chemical detection and decontamination, forward support, military police, network support, field artillery and engineering.

The effort required to develop a multi-function brigade with a brand-new mission objective from elements of a field artillery brigade and engineering units is massive. It requires Soldiers - from the lower enlisted ranks to officers - to retrain in different career fields to meet new requirements.

"What a daunting mission," said Brig. Gen. Mark Anderson, commander of the Wisconsin Army National Guard. "It's absolutely astounding, the amount accomplished in such a short time."

Anderson said he is confident the new commander will take the brigade to new heights in the coming months, as training shifts from individual to section-level training, which will culminate in a corps-level warfighter exercise next year.

Liethen has spent most of his career with engineer units: as commander of the 229th Engineer Company; 724th Engineer Battalion commander; 264th Engineer Group deputy commander; and operations officer and executive officer with the 173rd Engineer Battalion (Mechanized).

While deployed, he served as director for the engineering directorate's Joint Reconstruction Operations Center, U.S. Forces-Iraq, and deputy director of Multi-National Corps-Iraq Facilities, Basing and Environmental engineering directorate.

Most recently, Liethen was responsible for the planning, programming and execution of the state's construction, operations, maintenance, repair and environmental protection programs. As director, he was the principal advisor to the adjutant general on all real estate matters and capital investment projects.