Fort Meade Gets New Commander

FORT MEADE, Md. (AP) -- Fort Meade's new installation commander is no stranger to the Army post near Baltimore.

Col. Edward Rothstein did two stints there before assuming command Tuesday.

He was assigned to the 743rd Military Intelligence Battalion at Fort Meade from 1993 to 1996. He served at the National Security Agency there from 2007 to 2009.

Rothstein returns to Fort Meade from Afghanistan, where he recently served as chief of intelligence operations for the International Security Assistance Force.

He succeeds Col. Daniel Thomas as installation commander. Thomas took command in 2008 and oversaw much of the planning for an expansion that will bring the post's employment to 48,000 by year's end, compared with about 35,000 at the start of Thomas' administration.

(Copyright 2011 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)