173rd Airborne’s senior enlisted fired over alcohol-related incidents

The senior enlisted leader for the Army’s 173rd Airborne Brigade was relieved of his duties last month, officials confirmed Tuesday.

Command Sgt. Maj. Matthew Carlson was fired on July 16 “due to a loss of trust and confidence in his leadership,” Army spokesman Neil Ruggiero said in an email to Army Times.

Carlson was relieved after a “thorough” investigation that “pertained to alcohol-related incidents,” Ruggiero said.

He did not provide further details regarding potential charges or other repercussions for Carlson.

Carlson has been temporarily assigned duty at Headquarters, U.S. Army Southern European Task Force, Africa.

Sgt. Maj. Frank Batts, the command sergeant major of the 54th Brigade Engineer Battalion, has been appointed the acting brigade command sergeant major.

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Carlson enlisted in 1999 and deployed to Colombia, Latvia, Lithuania, Iraq and Afghanistan during his career, Ruggiero confirmed. He was awarded the Bronze Star Medal for his service.

Prior to taking his senior enlisted position in March 2023, the paratrooper served with the brigade’s 1st Battalion (Airborne), 503rd Infantry Regiment and the 2nd Battalion, 503rd Airborne Infantry Regiment, according to a brigade Facebook post.

The brigade is a forward-deployed airborne unit based out of Vicenza, Italy, that falls under U.S. Army Europe and Africa. It has recently supported NATO forces. Members trained in Ukraine in late 2021 prior to the Russian invasion of the country.

Military.com first reported Carlson’s firing.