New commanders take charge of Task Force 291, 110th IO Battalion

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text css=”.vc_custom_1586018948706{margin-top: 0px !important;margin-right: 0px !important;margin-bottom: 0px !important;margin-left: 0px !important;border-top-width: 0px !important;border-right-width: 0px !important;border-bottom-width: 0px !important;border-left-width: 0px !important;padding-top: 0px !important;padding-right: 0px !important;padding-bottom: 0px !important;padding-left: 0px !important;}”]Article By: Sgt. James Nowell-Coleman, 29th Mobile Public Affairs Detachment
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ANNAPOLIS (March 27, 2020) – U.S. Army Brig. Gen. Janeen Birckhead, commander of the Maryland Army National Guard, hosted a change of command ceremony recognizing the efforts of outgoing commanders and welcoming the incoming commander for Task Force 291 and the 110th Information Operations Battalion at the Lt. Col. E. Leslie Medford Readiness Center in Annapolis, Maryland, on March 27, 2020.

Given the current health guidelines as the state responds to COVID-19, no troops, outside guests, or family members were in attendance for the ceremony. 

Retiring in May, Col. Craig Weedon, the outgoing commander of TF291, turned over command to Lt. Col. Kristine Henry who departed from the 110th IO, and was replaced by Lt. Col. Kirstie Roy, incoming commander. 

TF 291 is an internal Maryland chain of command, made of two battalions, three detachments, and two separate companies that consist of intelligence, IO, signal, cyber, and Special Forces units.

“It’s an honor to have the opportunity to serve Maryland in a new role as commander of Task Force 291, and a special thanks to Col. Weedon for setting me up for success in this new role,” “It is also a great honor to pass on the 110th Battalion torch to Lt. Col. Roy,” said Henry.

Henry’s remarks were some of those originally planned for the soldiers she has served with at the 110th IO over the last three years, but due to the current public health circumstances she must wait to make those remarks in the future. Henry recognized the battalion’s recent accomplishments including deployments to the horn of Africa, the new CYBERCOM IO mobilization, multiple exercises for combatant command and state partnerships, the IO symposium, and improved training staff exercises.

The TF 291’s outgoing commander, Col. Weedon received his commission in 1990, by way of ROTC after earning a national scholarship. His first assignment was with the 1/11th Special Forces Group in Newburgh, New York, serving with the training company and battalion staff.  

Weedon was accepted into the Maryland Army National Guard in 1993, and served with the 2/115th Infantry Regiment as the battalion Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear, and Explosive materials officer in Chestertown. He oversaw the conduct of Officer Candidate School and Warrant Officer Candidate School for over two years. From 2017 to 2018 he served as an Advisor to the Afghan National Army Special Operations Command with the Special Operations Advisory Group, NATO Special Operations Component Command- Afghanistan / Special Operations Joint Task Force-Afghanistan. He has been employed by the Maryland Department of Natural Resources since 1992, and he lives on the Eastern Shore with his wife and two children.

The task force’s incoming commander, Lt. Col. Kristine Henry joined the Maryland Army National Guard in 1996 after serving in the active component as a Fires Control and Maintenance platoon leader with Bravo Company, 2/43rd ADA Battalion (Patriot), 108th Air Defense Artillery Brigade, XVIII Airborne Corps, of Fort Polk, Louisiana. 

After 20 years in the MDARNG, Henry assumed command of the 110th IO battalion. Henry has deployed to Bosnia-Herzegovina in 2001; to Iraq in 2004; to Louisiana in 2005 on a state mission; and to Afghanistan in 2012. She has completed tours at the Defense Information School and at USCYBERCOM, both at Ft. Meade, Maryland. Henry holds a Bachelor of Mathematics from William and Mary, where she received her commission through ROTC, and a Master of Computer Science from Hood College of Maryland. Currently, Henry works for Johns Hopkins applied physics lab working in cyber information warfare. She is married to Retired Lt. Col. Cleveland Henry.

Replacing Henry as the 110th IO battalion commander is Lt. Col Kirstie Roy who joined the MDARNG in 2015, after an interstate transfer from the Washington Army National Guard. Henry attended basic training at Ft. Leonard Wood two days after 9/11. She received her commission the following year after graduating from Officer Candidate School. She has deployed to Iraq from 2008-2009. She has completed several active duty tours while in the WAANG as the Command Language Program Manager and as the Intelligence Directorate (J-2) for the National Guard Homeland Response Force. 

In 2015, Roy transferred to the MDNG, serving as a Targeting Officer for A Detachment, 110 Information Operations Battalion. In 2016 she was selected as the Intelligence Plans Officer – J2 for Special Operations Detachment – OTAN/NATO and served in Afghanistan from 2017-2018 as the Senior Intelligence Advisor to the Afghan National Army Special Operations Command as a member of the Special Operations Advisory Group. She was then selected as the Army Chief of Staff Senior Intelligence Officer – G2 for the 29th Infantry Division. 

Roy, the mother of two, holds a Bachelor of Political Science from the University of Southern Maine, a Master of Management with a concentration in Operations and National Security and a Master of Business Administration from Maryland University College.[/vc_column_text][vc_text_separator title=”View photo gallery ” css=”.vc_custom_1586019816744{margin-top: 5px !important;margin-bottom: 5px !important;border-top-width: 5px !important;border-bottom-width: 5px !important;padding-top: 5px !important;padding-bottom: 5px !important;}”][vc_raw_html css=”.vc_custom_1586019928227{margin-top: 0px !important;margin-right: 0px !important;margin-bottom: 0px !important;margin-left: 0px !important;border-top-width: 0px !important;border-right-width: 0px !important;border-bottom-width: 0px !important;border-left-width: 0px !important;padding-top: 0px !important;padding-right: 0px !important;padding-bottom: 0px !important;padding-left: 0px !important;}”]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[/vc_raw_html][/vc_column][/vc_row]