ASHLAND — After being a part of the 201st Engineer Battalion for roughly a third of the unit’s history, Lt. Col. Michael Ferguson says he is looking forward to his new job in Frankfort.

“It will be nice to go fly helicopters after this,” Ferguson said Friday afternoon as soldiers at the Ashland armory prepared for a military ceremony to welcome their new commander, Lt. Col. Jerry Morrison.

After turning command of the 201st over to Morrison, Ferguson will become director of aviation for the Kentucky National Guard, a job traditionally performed by a colonel, and serve as aviation staff officer for the adjutant general of Kentucky. The new job involves management of all rotary and fixed-wing aircraft in Kentucky, including maintenance and operations.

Ferguson speaks with pride as he recalls the role played by members of the 201st during their recent mission in Afghanistan. The mobilization was actually a two-year process, he said, that included complicated and extensive training and logistical tasks. Members of the 201st racked up an impressive list of accomplishments and set performance records while in Afghanistan, he said, and served their fellow soldiers well.

“This group went into the unknown over there. You can train forever, but you can’t truly simulate the environment there,” Ferguson said, adding members of the unit definitely became more mutually supportive and closer knit once they arrived “in country.” Their jobs called for them to lead the way when any military vehicles were moving from place to place, and roughly 60 percent of the 201st members had direct contact with the enemy. Ferguson said all are proud of the fact that no coalition soldier from any of the many countries now in Afghanistan lost their lives while following the 201st to their destination.

The mission in Afghanistan was complicated by the unit being spread across an extremely wide stretch of territory, Ferguson said.

Ferguson said one of their greatest compliments came from a member of the Army’s 101st Airborne Division who asked for permission to wear the 201st patch, which includes images of Kentucky long rifles, as his combat patch.

“No words can describe the impact that had on the Joes,” Ferguson said.

Ferguson, 41, grew up in the Lloyd community of Greenup County “down by the Greenup Dam,” and “along the river bottoms.” His introduction to the military came while he was studying robotics at Morehead State University.

“At the time I was looking for some extra money,” he said, explaining his father took him by the local armory to talk about possible job options.

“Dad drove me up here about 22 years ago, dropped me off and said he would be back in an hour,” Ferguson said with a smile. “He came back an hour later and I was in the guard.”

After graduating from Morehead, Ferguson said he was looking for a job and explored additional opportunities with the National Guard, eventually landing a full-time position. He then enrolled in flight school and completed his helicopter training at Ft. Rucker in Alabama.

“I enjoyed that, but my family was here — my Guard family. I’ve grown up with these guys,” he said.

Ferguson said he owes much of the credit for his military success to the support he’s received from his wife, Mari Jo, and daughters, Caitlin, 11, and Allison, 7.

“That’s critical,” he said of the support families provide soldiers. “They serve just as tough a job as they guys and gals that are forward.”