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Col. Carl A. Alex on Wednesday took command of the 3rd Brigade Combat Team with a mandate to be ready by late summer for rapid-deployment duties.

Alex replaced Col. Timothy P. McGuire as commander of the brigade and the 505th Parachute Infantry Regiment of the 82nd Airborne Division. In November, McGuire brought the brigade back to Fort Bragg after a year in Iraq.

The "Panther Brigade" will join the U.S. military's Global Response Force with the requirement to be ready on short notice to parachute into combat or respond to a humanitarian crisis such as the aftermath of the Haiti earthquake.

"Third Brigade will reset, train up and assume this critical mission as our nation's nine-eleven," Maj. Gen. Mike Scaparrotti said.

Scaparrotti, the 82nd Airborne Division commander, was at Fort Bragg during the midpoint of his assignment as commander of NATO forces in eastern Afghanistan.

Alex, 49, of Newport News, Va., is former commander of the 1st Battalion of the 504th Parachute Infantry Regiment in the 82nd.

"Olesya and I are very excited, honored and deeply humbled at this great opportunity to serve and command an All American brigade combat team at such a critical and historic time in our nation," Alex said.

Alex enlisted in the Army in 1982 and received his commission five years later through Officer Candidate School. His assignments include the 1st Cavalry Division at Fort Hood, Texas, the 75th Ranger Regiment at Fort Benning, Ga., and the 2nd Infantry Division in South Korea.

"I know there is no one better suited to take the reins of the Panther team than Carl and Olesya Alex," McGuire said. "An outstanding paratrooper and warrior, Carl is the perfect leader to prepare this brigade combat team for its upcoming mission as the Global Response Force division ready brigade."

Scaparrotti said McGuire's preparation for the brigade's duties in Iraq serve as a model throughout the Army.

"The 3rd Brigade Combat Team arrived in east Baghdad at a precarious and critical time for Iraq," Scaparrotti said. "The Iraqi Security Forces were still gaining confidence and capability. ... Col. Tim McGuire and his troopers did an exceptional job of building on the progress in Iraq. ... The significance of their accomplishments is yet to be fully appreciated."

McGuire's next assignment is in Washington, D.C.

The 3,500-paratrooper brigade combat team is one of four in the 82nd Airborne Division. The 2nd Brigade Combat Team was the Global Response Force brigade and deployed to Haiti last month to support humanitarian efforts in the wake of the Jan. 12 earthquake. The 1st Brigade Combat Team is in Iraq, and the 4th is in Afghanistan.

Before the 9/11 attacks, the division had three infantry brigades that rotated responsibility for rapid-deployment duties several times annually. Requirements of sending brigades to Iraq and Afghanistan disrupted the rapid-response rotation. The division has transitioned to four brigade combat teams, and last summer the 2nd Brigade Combat Team began a year on duty for quick deployment with the Global Response Force.