Change is afoot among top-ranking officials at Joint Base Lewis-McChord. It was announced Tuesday, Nov. 6 that Lt. Gen. Robert Brown, who assumed command of I Corps in July 2012, would be moving on.

Brown has spent the last 16 months redirecting I Corps' focus to the Pacific Rim; in fact, I Corps headquarters is heading out soon for an exercise in Japan. He also used his position on the base to work on suicide prevention, sexual assault prevention and to help transitioning soldiers acclimate to the civilian workforce.

Brown's new position will be at the helm of the Combined Arms Center at Fort Leavenworth, Kan., which educates and develops Army leaders.

Stepping into the role is Maj. Gen. Stephen Lanza, who will take command of I Corps. Lanza, a 33-year Army veteran, has been the commander of 7th Infantry Division since October 2012, when he worked with the Army to stand up the 7th ID, which is now in charge of seven of the 10 brigades stationed at JBLM and includes close to 23,000 soldiers.

Lanza is a field artillery officer who has commanded soldiers at all levels, up to the brigade level, including command of the 5th Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division, at Fort Hood, Texas. He has deployed in support of Operation Desert Shield and Desert Storm, Operation Joint Guard, Bosnia-Herzegovina and Operation Iraqi Freedom. Prior to arriving at JBLM, he was the Army's Chief of Public Affairs.

The change and subsequent promotion will make Lanza the highest-ranking Army officer at JBLM.

According to a DoD release, a change of command is planned for the third week of January 2014.