Woman to Command Combat Brigade for the First Time in Los Alamitos

The California Army National Guard's 40th Combat Aviation Brigade will get its first female commander today.

Col. Laura L. Yaeger will be installed as commander of the unit at an afternoon change of command ceremony at the Joint Forces Training Base, Los Alamitos.

She replaces Col. Mitchell K. Medigovich, who served as the unit's commander during its recent deployment to Iraq. Medigovich and his soldiers were among the final U.S. troops to leave that country.

He moves on to become the California National Guard's joint chief of staff.

Under federal military rules, women are technically not allowed in actual combat. But Yaeger will command the 40th Combat Aviation Brigade, which has in Iraq and elsewhere seen actual combat.The change of command ceremony will be at 2 p.m. inside a hanger at the Los Alamitos military base, 11200 Lexington Dr.

-City News Service