AFTER two years at the helm of Townsville’s 3rd Brigade, Brigadier Roger Noble will relinquish command next month.

Making history as the first non-infantry officer to lead the brigade, Brig Noble will hand over the reins to Brigadier Chris Field on November 23, the same day Townsville’s 1st, 2nd and 3rd Battalions will make history as they celebrate their 70th anniversary.

A former commanding officer of the 1st Battalion and company commander in 2nd Battalion in Townsville, Brig Field (below) is expected to be well attuned to the running of 3rd Brigade, but will no doubt have big shoes to fill.

Under the command of Brig Noble, 3rd Brigade has seen a number of major changes including the relocation of the 2nd Cavalry Regiment last year, readying the 2nd Battalion for its role as Australia’s Amphibious Force, and co-ordinating both the centenary of 3rd Brigade and Anzac Day.

“I have really enjoyed it here and my family has too, but I always knew I would as I’m a North Queensland boy,” Brig Noble said. “I don’t know if people in Townsville realise how good a place this is.” Brig Noble will take on his new post as director-general army training at Victoria Barracks, Sydney next year.

“I will essentially run the training and education for the army so it'll be pretty good to come out of this job and do that.” he said. “(Training) has been a big focus of 3rd Brigade over the past two years. It’s what we’ve done well.

“The good thing is that I will still remain in contact with 3rd Brigade (as) I’ll be looking after all the individual training and courses through to all the collective stuff right through to Exercise Hamel. Trust me, I will find every excuse possible to come back up here.”

Brig Noble said he was proud of overseeing some of the biggest changes for 3rd Brigade since Lavarack Barracks opened 50 years ago.

“The brigade … has probably changed as much in the past two years as it had in the past 50 combined,” he said.

“Being part of that has been really exciting. In a military sense, the two Hamel exercises and all the preparations that have gone into that is something I’m really proud of.’’

He also enjoyed engaging with the community. “There’s an endless engagement from the lowest level up to charities such as Legacy and that’s something really special.”

The Townsville Bulletin’s “Road to Recovery: Our Diggers’ Toughest Battle” campaign has also left a lasting impression on Brig Noble, who supported the initiative since its launch in February.

“I think what the campaign did was inform people like the Chief of Army and the Chief of the Defence Force about grassroot viewpoints about PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder) and soldier recovery.’’