The 412th Theater Engineer Command, based in Vicksburg, pulled out all the stops Saturday morning as it rolled three usually separate ceremonies into one large one.

About 350 soldiers and civilians were on hand at the Vicksburg Convention Center to watch Lt. Gen. Jack C. Stultz, commanding general of the U.S. Army Reserve Command, promote Brig. Gen William M. Buckler Jr., to major general. Stultz then oversaw the passing of command of the 412th from Maj. Gen. Paul F. Hamm to Buckler. Promptly after the change of command, Hamm was honored as he retired from the army after 37 years.

The 412th is a component of the Army Reserve that is responsible for every reserve engineer unit east of the Mississippi River. The 412th consists of three brigades and one headquarters company totalling 12,000 soldiers. It conducts army engineering missions all over the world including South Korea, Europe and the Pacific.

“We are recognizing great army leaders,” Stultz said. “It is not by chance that someone becomes a major general.”

Hamm has been the commanding officer of the 412th for three years. He received his commission from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point in 1973 and since then has served in posts in Germany and with the Memphis District of the Corps of Engineers as a project officer and deputy district engineer. Before taking command of the 412th, Hamm spent four years as its deputy commander.

“It has been an honor and a privilege to serve as commander over the last three years,”

Hamm said during the ceremony. Of the man taking over, he said, “He is ideally suited to head the 412th.”

Buckler graduated from West Point in 1978 and has had a career that has taken him from the 1st Cavalry Division to an instructor at the U.S. Army Engineer School to several command and staff positions within the Army Reserve. Buckler has served two tours in Afghanistan, most recently from August 2009 to August 2010 with the 412th.

“What I really look forward to is getting out and visiting and watching soldiers train,” Buckler said. “I am also looking forward to figuring out how we can employ the army reserve better, to serve our nation and to further our nation’s goals.”