FORT STEWART, Ga. – The “Spartan Brigade,” 2nd Armored Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division welcomed the brigade’s new senior enlisted advisor, Command Sgt. Maj. Jason S. Mikan, on Jan. 11 during an assumption of responsibility ceremony at Cashe Garden, Fort Stewart. The Spartan Brigade completed reception and qualification on all its modernized vehicle platforms in September 2022 in accordance with the Army’s new Regionally Aligned Readiness and Modernization Model, or ReARMM, and the 3rd ID will complete its modernization in 2023, advancing toward the Army of 2030.

Col. Ethan J. Diven, commander of the 2nd ABCT, 3rd ID, welcomed distinguished guests, Soldiers and Families to the ceremony.

“Thank you for sharing this crisp coastal Georgia morning with us,” said Diven. “A morning we welcome and recognize Command Sgt. Maj. Jason Mikan, the senior enlisted leader of our ‘Spartan Brigade.’ Command Sgt. Maj. [Mikan] is no stranger to this historic division and Fort Stewart.”

Mikan, a native of Syracuse, New York, and joins the Spartan Brigade after serving as the command sergeant major for the 3rd Battalion, 61st Cavalry Regiment, 2nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, at Fort Carson, Colorado. When he was previously at Fort Stewart, Mikan deployed twice in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom and served with the 188th Infantry Brigade as a scout team chief and the brigade operations sergeant major.

During the ceremony, Diven spoke to Mikan with words of encouragement and wisdom during the ceremony.

“Spartan 7, It is rightfully so that there is a high bar for the organizational leader that bears this call sign,” Diven. “But knowing what a Spartan is, you just need to focus on three visual symbols will help us understand what it means to be a ‘Spartan’ to go into battle: a spear, a helmet, and a shield, which represents the lethality, the leadership, and the commitment of a Spartan.”

Mikan comes to the brigade with knowledge, eagerness and determination to fulfill the role as the brigade’s senior enlisted advisor and noncommissioned officer.

“I am truly humbled to stand before you today in this wonderful and historic organization,” said Mikan. “For the Soldiers of the Spartan Brigade, I’m here for you and let us continue to build on the great legacy of this brigade.”

The Spartan Brigade is the Army’s most modern land fighting force and is on glide path to execute a combat training center rotation in late winter 2023 at the National Training Center at Fort Irwin, California, to validate its readiness and proficiency to deploy, fight and win wherever and whenever the nation calls.