Gen. Christopher Donahue, commander of U.S. Army Europe and Africa, center, passes the 7th Army Training Command unit colors to incoming commander Brig. Gen. Terry Tillis, left, as outgoing commander Brig. Gen. Steven Carpenter, right, looks on during a change of command ceremony in Grafenwoehr, Germany, on June 30, 2025. (Matthew M. Burke/Stars and Stripes)
GRAFENWOEHR, Germany — The Army unit responsible for operating some of the most significant training ranges in Europe got a new commanding general Monday during a sunny ceremony in Bavaria.
Leadership of the 7th Army Training Command passed from Brig. Gen. Steven Carpenter to Brig. Gen. Terry Tillis at the Tower Barracks parade field.
The command oversees the Grafenwoehr Training Area, the Army’s largest permanent training area in Europe, as well as the service’s only combat training center outside the continental United States, the Joint Multinational Readiness Center at Hohenfels.
Tillis previously served in Grafenwoehr as commander of an armored brigade combat team during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“We’re serving at very dynamic times,” he said Monday. “We must build individual and collective readiness, accelerate modernization of our warfighting capabilities and deter Russian aggression while assuring our partners and allies.”
A career armor officer, Tillis arrives from the 1st Infantry Division at Fort Riley, Kan., where he served as a deputy commanding general for support.
The U.S. Army Europe and Africa band plays during the 7th Army Training Command change of command ceremony that saw Brig. Gen. Terry Tillis take over from Brig. Gen. Steven Carpenter in Grafenwoehr, Germany, on June 30, 2025. (Matthew M. Burke/Stars and Stripes)
A color guard marches during the 7th Army Training Command ceremony in Grafenwoehr, Germany, on June 30, 2025, that saw Brig. Gen. Terry Tillis take command of the unit from Brig. Gen. Steven Carpenter. (Matthew M. Burke/Stars and Stripes)
Outgoing 7th Army Training Command leader Brig. Gen. Steven Carpenter, left; the commander of U.S. Army Europe and Africa, Gen. Christopher Donahue, center; and incoming unit commander Brig. Gen. Terry Tillis march from the Tower Barracks parade field during the change of command ceremony in Grafenwoehr, Germany, on June 30, 2025. (Matthew M. Burke/Stars and Stripes)
Brig. Gen. Steven Carpenter delivers remarks after relinquishing the leadership of the 7th Army Training Command to Brig. Gen. Terry Tillis in Grafenwoehr, Germany, on June 30, 2025. (Matthew M. Burke/Stars and Stripes)
Brig. Gen. Terry Tillis delivers remarks after taking charge of the 7th Army Training Command in a ceremony June 30, 2025, in Grafenwoehr, Germany. (Matthew M. Burke/Stars and Stripes)
A crowd of over 100 is gathered on the Tower Barracks parade field in Grafenwoehr, Germany, on June 30, 2025, to watch Brig. Gen. Steven Carpenter relinquish leadership of the 7th Army Training Command to Brig. Gen. Terry Tillis. (Matthew M. Burke/Stars and Stripes)
Soldiers from the 7th Army Training Command stand at attention during a change of command ceremony held June 30, 2025, on the Tower Barracks parade field in Grafenwoehr, Germany. (Matthew M. Burke/Stars and Stripes)
He steps into the role with the command at the forefront of introducing the Army’s “transforming in contact,” a revamped concept for waging war.
Inspired by the innovative tactics seen in the Russia-Ukraine war, it includes the broad use of drones, electronic jamming and other measures.
The 7th ATC is responsible for developing training methods the Army will use to fight future wars, commander of U.S. Army Europe and Africa Gen. Christopher Donahue said Monday.
“This command makes sure that deterrence is real in Europe so that no adversary anywhere will ever think of doing anything dumb,” Donahue said. “This (command) is the reason why they won’t.”
Donahue credited Carpenter, who arrived in June 2023, with setting up the command for the service’s ongoing transformation to the tech-savvy fighting doctrine and overseeing the training of over 300,000 U.S. and NATO soldiers.
Carpenter also supervised the training for nearly half of the 23,000 Ukrainian soldiers who received instruction at Grafenwoehr and Hohenfels since April 2022, Donahue said during prepared remarks.
Carpenter, a career field artillery officer, now heads to Mainz to lead the 56th Artillery Command, training command spokeswoman Lacey Justinger said.
The U.S. Army Europe and Africa band plays while a Bavarian brass band listens and artillery fire rings out in the distance June 30, 2025, during a change of command ceremony in Grafenwoehr, Germany. (Matthew M. Burke/Stars and Stripes)
