Missile range has new commander

LAS CRUCES — Army Brig. Gen. Eric L. Sanchez will assume command of White Sands Missile Range during a Change of Command Ceremony at 9 a.m. today.

The military ceremony will be conducted outside of WSMR’s Frontier Club. Sanchez will take over command from Brig. Gen. Timothy Coffin, who has led WSMR since July 2, 2014.

Sanchez, 52, comes to WSMR from the 94th Army Air and Missile Defense Command, Joint Base Pearl Harbor, Hickam, Hawaii, according to a WSMR news release.

Sanchez was commissioned as an Army officer in 1987. He was a distinguished military graduate of New Mexico State University. He earned Masters of Science degrees from Central Michigan University and the Naval War College, in Newport, Rhode Island. During his 29-year career he has served in command and staff positions in the U.S., Korea, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia.

His wife, Teresa Sanchez, is a native of Mesilla.