Army to change commander of military prisons

? A new commander is taking over at two military prisons and a military police brigade at Fort Leavenworth.

Col. Eric Belcher is relinquishing his command of the U.S. Disciplinary Barracks, Joint Regional Confinement Facility and the 15th Military Police Brigade in a ceremony Thursday at Fort Leavenworth.

Col. Sioban Ledwith is taking command of the prisons and unit. Ledwith was most recently a student at the U.S. Army War College in Carlisle, Pa.

The U.S. Disciplinary Barracks is the military’s only maximum security prison, where inmates are sentenced to terms from more than five years to life, including death. The JRCF is for inmates serving short-term sentences or who are in pretrial confinement.

The 15th Military Police Brigade’s units staff the prisons.