FORT STEWART, Ga. - A mobilization has resulted in a new mission and a new commander for the 642nd Regional Support Group.
U.S. Army Col. James T. Wilson handed over leadership of the brigade-sized unit on Sunday, Feb. 27, to Col. Jeffrey L. Richar during a ceremony at Fort Stewart, Ga.
Wilson, who has led the unit since 2013, will take charge of the processing of troops going through mobilization and demobilization at Fort Bliss, Texas. He will be accompanied by some members of the 642nd RSG, who will handle administration and logistics for the new assignment.
Those remaining with the brigade at its headquarters in Decatur, Ga., will continue their normal support mission under Richar’s command.
“You can’t just rob the headquarters and send it to Fort Bliss,” Wilson said. “There would be no one left to support the Soldiers.”
The 642nd RSG oversees thousands of Army Reserve Soldiers throughout the southeastern United States, including Alabama, Georgia and South Carolina. These units primarily provide battalion-level command and control, maintenance, transportation, quartermaster, and personnel support.
Brig. Gen. Francisco A. Espaillat, commander of the 143rd Sustainment Command (Expeditionary), said in a statement that Richar now leads the largest brigade in the command.
“Col. Richar comes with a wealth of experience commanding battalions – two of which he inactivated and one he had to activate,” Espaillat said. “As he prepares for the 642nd mobilization at Ft. Bliss, things are going to become incredibly busy."
Richar, who is from Nazareth. Pa., previously served as G3/5 for the 84th Training Command at Fort Knox, Ky. His other assignments have included chief plans officer, G3 and deputy chief of staff with the 78th Training Division, Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, N.J.
He served with the 401st Civil Affairs Battalion during Operations Desert Storm and Desert Shield. His awards include the Bronze Star Medal, Meritorious Service Medal with Bronze Oak Leaf, Southwest Asia Service Medal with two Bronze Service Stars and Kuwait Liberation Medals.
The goals he intends for the 642nd include mentoring junior officers on the importance of taking care of Soldiers. He said his wartime experiences showed him the consequences of that not happening.
“I’m pretty intense as a leader, but pretty compassionate for the Soldiers,” Richar said.
Troops also need to understand the benefits they are entitled to as well as the main mission of the brigade, he said.
“Our role is to support the combat commander in theatre,” Richar said.
Espaillat said Wilson led a positive effort and never lost his enthusiasm as the commander.
“He took the 642d RSG above and beyond with the execution of the R2TE and conducting split base operations with half the brigade at Ft. Jackson or Ft. Stewart,” Espaillat said. “Being faced with turbulence he served a few times in a dual hatter position as the brigade deputy commander.”
Wilson, of Birmingham, Ala., has served in the Army for 28 years, having first enlisted in the Alabama National Guard and gaining his commission through Auburn University ROTC. He deployed to Saudi Arabia as a platoon leader during Desert Storm and was a support operations officer in Iraq.
Prior to taking charge of the 642nd RSG, he was the logistics officer, finance officer and chief of staff for Deployment Support Command in Birmingham.
He earned numerous awards, including two Bronze Stars during Desert Storm and Operation Iraqi Freedom. He has also received several Meritorious Service Medals, Army Commendation and Army Achievement Medals.
During his time with the 642nd RSG, he oversaw annual operations such as the Regional Readiness Training Exercise and WAREX. Multiple subordinate units, such as the 461st Human Resources Company, deployed to, and returned from, overseas assignments.
He considers the operations very successful and is pleased with the progress the brigade has made.
“Doing a good job with the right team, the right training and the right equipment, prepared to go to the mission is the greatest success,” Wilson said. “We’ve done that several times.”
The newest assignment will involve taking over the work of the Mobilization Support Battalion at Fort Bliss. His Soldiers will be responsible for everything except the training of mobilizing and demobilizing troops.
| Date Taken: | 03.07.2016 |
| Date Posted: | 03.09.2016 21:48 |
| Story ID: | 191819 |
| Location: | FORT STEWART, GA, US |
| Hometown: | BIRMINGHAM, AL, US |
| Hometown: | NAZARETH, PA, US |
| Web Views: | 75 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, Transferred leadership, mobilization to challenge unit, by MSG Gary Witte, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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