Col. Kelso C. Horne III will relinquish command of the Pine Bluff Arsenal to Col. Luis A. Ortiz, at 9 a.m. Thursday, July 19.
The change of command ceremony will be held at the Armed Forces Reserve Center near the Creasy Complex outside the Plainview-White Hall Gate.
Ortiz will become the Arsenal’s 38th commander, according to a news release.
Col. Michelle Letcher, commanding general for the U.S. Army Joint Munitions Command, will officiate the ceremony. A reception will be held at the reserve center following the event, according to the release.
Ortiz comes to the Arsenal from Fort Bragg, N.C., as the XVIII ABN (Airborne Corps) Protection and CBRNE (chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear and explosives) chief. He enlisted in the Army in 1987 as a chemical operations specialist as a private first class, according to the release.
Horne has been Arsenal commander since July 7, 2016. His next assignment is director of the U.S. Army Chemical Materials Activity at Aberdeen Proving Ground, Md. The Arsenal is the only active Army installation in Arkansas, according to the release.