Georgia Army National Guardsman Lt. Col. Erik Andersen, a member of the 648th Maneuver Enhancement Brigade of Columbus, was promoted on March 10 from Major to Lieutenant Colonel while deployed in Kabul, Afghanistan.

Andersen, an Acworth resident, was joined during the ceremony via FaceTime by his two young daughters McKayla and Gabrielle and wife Pamela.

Traditionally, military families are asked to participate in promotion ceremonies by pinning new rank on their soldier. In their Acworth home, Mrs. Andersen hung his dress uniform with their daughters replacing his old rank with the new rank.

Col. Andy L. Hall, the 648th MEB Commander who promoted Anderson, said he had made a big impact during his deployment.

Andersen serves as the operations officer for the unit that has been mobilized since December. He is responsible for all current operations, plans, tntelligence, and military police operations across the Kabul Base Cluster. He also synchronizes security efforts and Afghan National Police assessments and integration across Kabul.

Andersen was proud to share his promotion moment with both his military family and his family back home thanks to technology.

“It was the next best thing to having them there in the room,” he said.