Csrnko takes command of SWCS.(UPDATE)(Major General Thomas R. Csrnko of the Special Warfare Center and School Command)

The U.S. Army John F. Kennedy Special Warfare Center and School welcomed a new commanding general while saying farewell to another in a change-of-command ceremony at Meadows Parade Field June 20.

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During the ceremony, Major General Thomas R. Csrnko assumed command from Major General James W. Parker. Lieutenant General Robert W. Wagner, commanding general of the U.S. Army Special Operations Command, hosted the event. Wagner and Parker expressed confidence in Csrnko's experience, calling him the ideal person to command SWCS.

"Tom Csrnko is eminently qualified and the exact person to command the center and school," Wagner said.

Parker, who retired later in the day, noted that it was usually hard for him to pass on the guidon, but this was different.

"It was much easier this time, because I knew it was going to exactly the right person and exactly the right officer to take the Special Warfare Center and School to the next level," Parker said.

Csrnko was commissioned into the Army in 1974 from Indiana University of Pennsylvania with a bachelor of science degree. He relinquished command of the U.S. Army Special Forces Command June 17.