Brig. Gen. Curtis King makes his first speech as commander of the 10th Army Air and Missile Defense Command at Sembach Kaserne, Germany, on June 20, 2024. (Phillip Walter Wellman/Stars and Stripes)

SEMBACH, Germany — An Army command at the forefront of modernization efforts amid Russia’s war in Ukraine got a new leader Thursday.

Brig. Gen. Curtis King took over from Brig. Gen. Maurice Barnett as the head of the 10th Army Air and Missile Defense Command at a ceremony at Sembach Kaserne.

The command is responsible for U.S. air defense operations in Europe that use ground-based missiles.

Cannons are fired during a ceremony at Sembach Kaserne, Germany, on June 20, 2024, during which Brig. Gen. Curtis King assumed command of the 10th Army Air and Missile Defense Command from Brig. Gen. Maurice Barnett. (Phillip Walter Wellman/Stars and Stripes)

Several of its batteries are deployed to NATO’s eastern flank to counter airborne threats.  

The command’s role “is more important than ever, given the return of large-scale ground combat to the Continent,” commander of U.S. Army Europe and Africa Gen. Darryl Williams said Thursday.

Williams lauded Barnett’s efforts over the past two years, underscoring the “pivotal role” he played in working with Ukrainian leaders and overseeing Ukrainian air defense training.

Brig. Gen. Curtis King assumes command of the 10th Army Air and Missile Defense Command at Sembach Kaserne, Germany, June 20, 2024. (Phillip Walter Wellman/Stars and Stripes)

The 10th AAMDC, which was upgraded to a one-star command in 2019, grew under Barnett’s watch. In October 2022, he oversaw the activation of the 52nd Air Defense Artillery Brigade in Sembach, which provides command and control for all Army air and missile defense forces in Europe.

Its subordinate units include a Patriot battalion and two short-range air defense battalions, all based in Germany, and two missile defense batteries, one in Turkey and the other in Israel.

The 5th Battalion, 4th Air Defense Artillery Regiment, one of the short-range units, became the first to fully transition to the Stryker-based Maneuver Short-Range Air Defense system, or M-SHORAD, and the first to use the system in an active defense mission.

Brig. Gen. Maurice Barnett makes a farewell speech to members of the 10th Army Air and Missile Defense Command on June 20, 2024, after relinquishing command during a ceremony at Sembach Kaserne. (Phillip Walter Wellman/Stars and Stripes)

It did so last year. Last week, the Army renamed the M-SHORAD the Sgt. Stout for Medal of Honor recipient Sgt. Mitchell Stout, an artilleryman who was killed protecting his fellow soldiers in Vietnam. It’s currently being used in Poland and Romania.

The other short-range unit, the 1st Battalion, 57th Air Defense Artillery Regiment, was reactivated in October and is expected to support missions this fall.

While air defense became an Army priority after Russia annexed Ukraine’s Crimean Peninsula in 2014, officials say Moscow’s full-scale invasion of the country in February 2022 has bluntly made the case for greater capacity, especially in Europe.

Soldiers assigned to units of the 10th Army Air and Missile Defense Command wait out the rain ahead of a ceremony at Sembach Kaserne, Germany, on June 20, 2024, that saw Brig. Gen. Curtis King assume leadership of the command. (Phillip Walter Wellman/Stars and Stripes)

Commander of United States Europe and Africa, Gen. Darryl A. Williams, jokes with troops at Sembach Kaserne, Germany, Thursday, June 20, 2024, ahead of a change-of-command ceremony for the 10th Army Air and Missile Defense Command. (Phillip Walter Wellman/Stars and Stripes)

Commander of the 52nd Air Defense Artillery Brigade, Col. Bruce Bredlow, center, salutes during a change-of-command ceremony at Sembach Kaserne, Germany, on June 20, 2024, that saw Brig. Gen. Curtis King become leader of the 10th Army Air and Missile Defense Command. (Phillip Walter Wellman/Stars and Stripes)

A hallmark of the conflict has been Russia’s prolific use of missiles and drones to exhaust Ukrainian defenses.

American air defense officials say they have been analyzing the Kremlin’s tactics and learning from them.

As the senior Army air defender in Europe, King will be tasked with coordinating air defense with various military entities. He arrives after serving as the commandant of the U.S. Army Air Defense Artillery School.