Story and photo by Melissa Buckley
GUIDON staff
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Col. Allan Webster, 1st Engineer Battalion commander, relinquished command to Col. Daniel Larsen, 1st Engineer Battalion commander, Friday on Gammon Field.

“I am humbled and honored to have served with the 1st Engineer Brigade, the Regiment and Fort Leonard Wood,” Webster said.

Webster said he is mostly going to miss the Soldiers and civilians he has worked with on Fort Leonard Wood.

“Their passion for getting the mission done while taking care of Soldiers and families is both humbling and inspiring. The support from the local communities, businesses, agencies and organizations for this post is also absolutely fantastic,” Webster said.

Webster is headed to MacDill Air Force Base, Fla., U.S. Central Command, J4-Engineer. He said he has several great memories from his time spent here — from watching Soldiers train to ENFORCE events.  

“I would have to say that seeing Soldiers busting with confidence and pride as they walk across the stage at graduation; the reaction of parents and family as they see their son or daughter transformed into a Soldier; the patience of the instructors as they train yet another new group; the dedication of a drill sergeant and Advanced Individual Training platoon sergeant; the willing sacrifice and support by the families of those responsible for transforming civilians to Soldiers; the young officers, eager to get to their next, first, unit of assignment; the way the Soldiers and civilians poured into FLW minutes after the Dec. 31,2010 tornado to help in any way possible; and honoring our fallen Sappers and their families during the Engineer Regiment’s annual conference,” Webster said.

Larsen isn’t new to Fort Leonard Wood. He has been working as the Director of Training and Leader Development for the Engineer School.

“We were stationed at FLW from 2005 to 2006. I worked in the Engineer School for a year and then commanded the 169th Engineer Battalion. I also was here in 1991 to 1992 to attend the Engineer Officer Advance Course,” Larsen said. “To be honest, in 1991, I thought Fort Leonard Wood was in the middle of nowhere, especially after having attended the Engineer Officer Basic Course at Fort Belvoir, Va. Each time we have returned, we have been impressed at how much the post has grown and how the Garrison Command continues to improve quality of support for units and quality of life for families. The support from local communities continues to impress, also.”

    Larsen said he is looking forward to working on Fort Leonard Wood for a couple more years.

“First, the opportunity for our family to continue to grow together and enjoy the beauty of the Ozarks,” Larsen said. “Second, the honor and challenges of being a teammate in a great brigade with a great mission of training and taking care of Soldiers.”

    Larsen was commissioned from the US Military Academy, in 1988. He is a graduate of the Engineer Officer Basic and Advanced Courses, Airborne and Ranger Schools, Combined Arms Services Staff School, Command and General Staff College, and Senior Service College.

    His operational deployments include: Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm (Saudi Arabia, Iraq, and Kuwait); Operation Safe Haven (Panama); Operations Joint Guard and Joint Forge (Bosnia-Herzegovina); Operation Enduring Freedom (Afghanistan); Operation Iraqi Freedom (Iraq); and deployment to El Salvador for Humanitarian/Civic Action operations.

    Larsen holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Electrical Engineering from the US Military Academy and a Master of Science degree in National Security Affairs (Special Operations and Low-Intensity Conflict) from the Naval Postgraduate School.

    Larsen is married to the former Huang Li-Fang, originally from Taiwan, and they have two daughters.