After just over a year at Army Program Executive Office-Enterprise Information Systems, Brig. Gen. Patrick Burden is headed overseas.

Burden, who has led PEO-EIS since October 2016, has been assigned as deputy commander at Combined Security Transition Command-Afghanistan, United States Forces-Afghanistan, Operation Freedom’s Sentinel, according to Army officials. Current Acting Deputy PEO Cherie Smith will serve as the acting PEO, officials said.

With an annual budget of nearly $2 billion, PEO EIS oversees several of the Army’s enterprise resource planning programs, such as the General Fund Enterprise Business System and the Integrated Personnel and Pay System-Army. The portfolio also includes key communications programs such as the Defense Communications and Army Transmission Systems.

In this role, Burden has been vocal about the role of cyber and networks in broader multidomain operations. He also focused on how the agency impacts the Army-wide focus on readiness and efficiency.

Burden will be stepping in for Maj. Gen. Neil Thurgood, who will rotate to be the director for test at the Missile Defense Agency at Redstone Arsenal, Alabama. That should be familiar territory for Thurgood, who prior to Afghanistan and a stint at the Pentagon served as program executive officer for Army Missiles and Space.

Thurgood replaces MDA Director for Test Maj. Gen. Dan Hughes, who also previously held the deputy commander role at CSTC-A in addition to being the former Army Program Executive Officer – Command, Control, Communications-Tactical.

Burden’s change of command will take place Jan. 8.

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