Col. Tom Vandal has been named Fort Stewart's new Deputy Division Commander for Support. He arrived to the Savannah area just two weeks ago from Germany, where he served as the commander of the Operations Group of the Joint Multinational Readiness Center in Hohenfels, just north of Munich. One of the Army's three combat training centers, JMRC trains U.S. Army Europe Soldiers for deployment to Iraq or Afghanistan.
"What we would end up doing is replicating the environment, whether it's Kosovo, Iraq, or Afghanistan, and training the soldiers on current lessons learned from the war on terror," Vandal said Friday.
Prior to his position at JMRC, Vandal commanded the 75th Fires Brigade in Oklahoma. Now, the colonel looks forward to serving at Fort Stewart.
"What I've really seen over the past two weeks is how close-knit and supportive the community is for the soldiers at Fort Stewart and Hunter. I think it makes a huge difference," he said.
Vandal is currently living in the Fort Stewart area, but as soon as his belongings arrive from Germany-which takes about 50 days-he'll relocate to Hunter Air Force Base. As for his time on the job, Vandal said, "I'll spend about 40% of my time [at Fort Stewart's] division headquarters, and about 60% of my time at Hunter."
Although still adjusting to their new home, Vandal and his family are ready to become part of the community. "We're really looking forward to meeting the folks here," he said.
The dog-faced soldiers’ deputy division commander for maneuver is Col. Patrick J. Donahue II, who is expected to arrive to the area soon.
Donahue and Vandal will serve under Maj. Gen. Tony Cucolo, who will command the division and Fort Stewart when he leaves his current Pentagon slot as chief of public affairs for the Army.
Donahue will be coming to Fort Stewart from two Pentagon tours, where he served as executive officer to the Army’s vice chief of staff and as executive officer to the secretary of the Army.
Both colonels have already been selected for promotion to brigadier general.
"What we would end up doing is replicating the environment, whether it's Kosovo, Iraq, or Afghanistan, and training the soldiers on current lessons learned from the war on terror," Vandal said Friday.
Prior to his position at JMRC, Vandal commanded the 75th Fires Brigade in Oklahoma. Now, the colonel looks forward to serving at Fort Stewart.
"What I've really seen over the past two weeks is how close-knit and supportive the community is for the soldiers at Fort Stewart and Hunter. I think it makes a huge difference," he said.
Vandal is currently living in the Fort Stewart area, but as soon as his belongings arrive from Germany-which takes about 50 days-he'll relocate to Hunter Air Force Base. As for his time on the job, Vandal said, "I'll spend about 40% of my time [at Fort Stewart's] division headquarters, and about 60% of my time at Hunter."
Although still adjusting to their new home, Vandal and his family are ready to become part of the community. "We're really looking forward to meeting the folks here," he said.
The dog-faced soldiers’ deputy division commander for maneuver is Col. Patrick J. Donahue II, who is expected to arrive to the area soon.
Donahue and Vandal will serve under Maj. Gen. Tony Cucolo, who will command the division and Fort Stewart when he leaves his current Pentagon slot as chief of public affairs for the Army.
Donahue will be coming to Fort Stewart from two Pentagon tours, where he served as executive officer to the Army’s vice chief of staff and as executive officer to the secretary of the Army.
Both colonels have already been selected for promotion to brigadier general.