Commander – Col. Jason Gracida

Col. Jason Gracida enlisted as an infantryman with the US Marine Corps in 1992, where he served with distinction until 1996 when he joined the Idaho Army National Guard as a Mortarman (11C) in 2-116 Armor Battalion.

Col. Gracida earned his commission from the Idaho Army National Guard Officer Candidate School in 2002, commissioning as an Armor Officer in A Company 2-116 Armor. He deployed with A Company in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom III in 2004-2005. Upon return, he was assigned as Executive Officer for Headquarters and Headquarters Troop 2-116 Armor, and later as the Assistant Operations Officer through 2008. In 2008, he assumed Command of C Troop, 2-116 Armored Reconnaissance Squadron and served in that position until 2012, including a Deployment to Iraq in support of Operation New Dawn. Col. Gracida was then assigned as the Assistant Operations Officer at the 116th CBCT Headquarters until he was re-assigned as the Executive Officer for 2-116 ARS in 2013, culminating with a National Training Center rotation in 2015.

In 2017, Col. Gracida was assigned as Commander of 2-116 and was responsible for transitioning the battalion from an Armored Reconnaissance to a Combined Arms Battalion as well as leading the battalion through another National Training Center rotation in 2019. Following National Training Center in 2019, Col. Gracida was assigned as Commander, 1-204th Armor Training Battalion, where he served until his assignment as the 116th CBCT Executive Officer in August 2020. As the Executive Officer, he conducted numerous training events, supported a state response to a the COVID-19 pandemic, and deployed two separate task forces to Kuwait in support of contingency operations within the CENTCOM Area of Responsibility. Col. Gracida was most recently assigned to a directorate position at Joint Force Headquarters, Idaho as the G3 Operations Officer.