WINCHESTER, Va. – Maj. Gen. Robert Carlson, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, USACE, Transatlantic Division commander, relinquished command during a Change of Command and Change of Responsibility Ceremony July 14 at the division’s headquarters here.
The USACE Commanding General and 54th Chief of Engineers Lt. Gen. Todd Semonite accepted the colors from Carlson and passed them to Brig. Gen David Hill, Transatlantic Division Commander. Simultaneously, Command Sgt. Maj. Ronald Johnson relinquished responsibility of his duties to Command Sgt. Maj. John Etter Jr.
Nothing that comes into this division is standard, Semonite said to Carlson in his remarks, “You’ve pushed an uphill battle when the rules kept changing. Bottom line, you did a great job of stepping up.”
Carlson commanded the Transatlantic Division since June 2014. He concurrently serves as USACE’s Deputy Commanding General for Reserve Affairs, headquartered in Washington, D.C. In this capacity, he was the Chief of Engineers’ senior advisor on all reserve force matters within the Engineer Regiment. He most recently commanded both the 372nd Engineer Brigade, Fort Snelling, Minn. and the Contingency Response Unit, 416th Theater Engineer Command, Headquarters USACE, Washington, D.C.
Carlson’s next assignment is the Special Advisor to the Assistant Secretary of the Army for Manpower and Reserve Component Affairs in the Pentagon, Washington D.C.
In Carlson’s final address he said he would fondly look back on his time with the Transatlantic Division. “It’s been an amazing and whirlwind three-years and I will always remember the places I’ve traveled, the people I’ve met and the friends I’ve made along the way.” He continued saying, “I strove to be a leader who led with vision, conviction and passion. I hope that I met your expectations.”
Carlson said. “It is with great pride and a feeling of satisfaction, I yield command of this great organization to Brigadier General Dave Hill.”
Johnson has served as the Transatlantic Division’s second ever command sergeant major since February 2015. Prior to that he came from Fort Leonard Wood, Mo. where he served as the 1st Engineer Brigade command sergeant major.
Johnson entered the U.S. Army in November 1986 from Terre Haute, Ind., and has served as a team leader, squad leader, platoon sergeant, drill sergeant, Equal Opportunity advisor, noncommissioned officer-in-charge of Directorate of Public Works, first sergeant and command sergeant major.
Johnson’s deployments and overseas tours include Germany, Honduras, Thailand and the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia and Operations Able Sentry, Desert Shield, Desert Storm, Iraqi Freedom I and Enduring Freedom IX and XI.
Johnson is retiring from the U.S. Army in 2017. Earlier in the day he stated, “I’ve absolutely loved this assignment and have grown personally and professionally,” he added “we are better people because of our time here.”
Carlson said Johnson really knew what was going on in the unit. “He’s been incredible. The heartbeat of the organization.
During Carlson and Johnson’s time with the division, world events invoked multiple significant increases in coordinated engineering support from the Transatlantic Division. Most recently, in June 2017, the division supported the deployment of Task Force Enhanced Security Zone, a USACE general officer and a support staff element, to conduct initial assessments and planning with the U.S. Forces – Afghanistan Commander to best meet the commander’s needs.
In May 2017, the Transatlantic Division established Task Force Essayons, TFE, in Taji, Iraq as the ‘one-door to the Corps’ for all USACE activities supporting Combined Joint Task Force – Operation Inherent Resolve. TFE enables the warfighter with their forward engineering presence with design, construction, real estate leasing, base camp master planning and environmental management capabilities.
In August 2016, per a directive from the President of the United States, in conjunction with the Government of Iraq and U. S. Department of State, the USACE Mosul Dam Task Force was established to support the grouting efforts at Mosul Dam in Iraq. USACE, through the division and the Transatlantic Middle East District, was hired as the Government of Iraq’s trusted agent for technical assistance and oversight of operations related to emergency grouting and rehabilitation of the bottom outlet of the Mosul Dam.
In October 2015, the Transatlantic Division, TAD, in coordination with the Center for Army Lessons Learned, published the USACE Overseas Contingency Operations Playbook, which was based on lessons learned from USACE support to Operations Iraqi Freedom and Enduring Freedom. The document was structured to serve as a guide for future contingency operations.
Throughout it all the Transatlantic Afghanistan District, TAA, successfully completed 70 infrastructure and military construction projects in support of the Afghan security forces and civil authorities. TAA made significant progress on Afghanistan's electrical power distribution grid thanks to their partnerships with and resources from neighboring countries. When complete, this project will have substantial impact on the citizens of Afghanistan by increasing the volume and reliability of electricity, providing additional security capabilities for the defense forces.
“Being selected as the commander and command sergeant major of a division doesn’t happen by accident. It requires highly motivated, agile leaders to manage the tremendous volume of day-to-day business and facilitate the long-term success of great organizations,” said Semonite. “Brigadier General Hill and Command Sgt. Maj. Etter, you have proved – time after time – that you are the leaders the Corps needs and upon which our stakeholders can rely. I feel very confident that the Transatlantic Division is on the right path.”
Prior to taking command of the Transatlantic Division, Hill was the Commander and Division Engineer of the Southwestern Division, USACE, with a headquarters in Dallas, Texas. Some of his more recent assignments include Director of the Office of the Chief of Engineers in the Pentagon, Washington, D.C.; Maneuver Support Human Resource Manager, U.S. Army Colonels Management Office, Rosslyn, Va. and Division Chief of Training and Chief of Operations, 4th Infantry Division at Fort Hood, Texas.
Hill had this to say to the Transatlantic Division workforce. “I’m incredibly excited to join your team – a flexible and responsive team that embraces public service,” said Hill. “Your expeditionary mindset and individual readiness is every bit as impressive as our soldiers that deploy.”
Hill also had a few words for Etter. “I can’t wait to get after our mission with you – it is a great privilege to serve with you again and I’m thankful for your continued hunger to lead and make a difference.”
Etter joins the division from the 25th Infantry Division at Schofield Barracks, Hawaii as the division engineer sergeant major. He entered the U. S. Army on Active Duty in October 1988 and has served as a combat engineer, team leader, squad leader, sapper leader course instructor, special operations engineer, platoon sergeant, senior drill sergeant, battalion operations sergeant, first sergeant, operations sergeant major and command sergeant major.
His deployments and overseas tours include Camp Howse, Korea; Kuwait; Afghanistan and multiple tours in Iraq.
The Transatlantic Division (TAD), located in Winchester, Va. was originally established in 1991 to support the increased reconstruction activities following Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm in 1990 and 1991. It stood-up for a second time on September 29, 2009. The division provides USACE design, construction execution, and related engineering services to the USCENTCOM area of responsibility, which includes countries in the Middle East, North Africa and Central Asia. The division oversees construction programs with projects in 19 of the 20 USCENTCOM nations exceeding $8 billion annually.
TAD is made up of the Transatlantic Middle East District, a permanent district co-located with TAD in Winchester; the Transatlantic Afghanistan District, a contingency engineer district in Afghanistan; the Mosul Dam Task Force, a short-term Department of State funded task force at the Mosul Dam in Iraq and Task Force Essayons, a scalable organization in Taji, Iraq.