Hoo-ah: New OKNG 45th IBCT CO ready to carrry on unit's legacy

Col. Lawrence Fleishman was introduced as the commander of the Oklahoma Army National Guard’s 45th Infantry Brigade Combat Team in a ceremony Saturday at Midwest City High School.

Fleishman and the outgoing commander, Brig. Gen. Myles Deering, returned recently from Iraq where they supervised the International Zone — also known as the Green Zone — in Baghdad. Deering, also honored in Saturday’s ceremony, will be promoted to the rank of major general and become the director of manpower and personnel at the National Guard Bureau in Washington, D.C., in January.

Incoming command Sgt. Maj. Jeffrey Mapes was also welcomed as the incoming top non-commissioned officer. Mapes replaces Sgt. Maj. Dean Bridges. Fleishman, who enlisted in the National Guard in 1981, also holds a law degree from the University of Oklahoma and a doctorate in physics from Princeton University.

"It’s a reflection of how I solve problems. As a physicist, I look for order, and as a soldier, I impose that order on the battlefield,” he said.

In his 27 years with the Guard, Fleishman has imposed order in places such as Afghanistan, Iraq and New Orleans.

Fleishman’s first order of business is getting troops trained on the brigade’s new Army Battle Control System in the spring and carrying on the legacy of the one of the National Guard’s most prestigious units, he said.