Woman takes command of Missouri Guard unit

ST. JOSEPH, Mo. -- A woman is commanding the Missouri National Guard's 135th Signal Battalion for the second time in three years.

Lt. Col. Michele A. Melton, of Aurora, took over the St. Joseph-based unit in a change-of-command ceremony Sunday.

"Together we can carry on the tradition where citizen-soldiers make a difference," Melton said.

She succeeded Lt. Col. Duane Probst, who took over as commander in 2001 from Lt. Col. Judy Moning.

Moning served three years as the first woman in commander of the unit, which dates back to 1923 as the 35th Tank Company of the Missouri National Guard.

Probst, of Savannah, Mo., became chief intelligence officer at the state headquarters in Jefferson City on Aug. 1.

Melton received bachelor's and master's degrees in education from Southwest Missouri State University. She served on active duty in Korea and Germany and at Fort Stewart, Ga., and was deployed during Operation Desert Shield/ Desert Storm.

She said she is looking forward to working with the soldiers of the signal battalion.

"I had a desk job before and I'm tickled to death to be around the troops," Melton said.

In remarks during the ceremony, Probst said the battalion has about 50 soldiers deployed, including 14 in Bosnia, 32 handling air base security and a half dozen in Iraq and Kuwait.