FORT LIBERTY — Fort Liberty soldiers and community members welcomed a new commander Thursday who will help oversee the day-to-day operations of the most populated U.S. military installation in the world.
Col. John Wilcox, the installation's first garrison commander under its new name of Fort Liberty, handed the garrison’s colors to incoming commander Col. K. Chad Mixon at a command change ceremony on the post’s main parade field.
Wilcox is headed to Florida to join the U.S. Special Operations Command staff, while Mixon returns to Fort Liberty after attending the U.S. Army War College in Carlisle, Pennsylvania.
Outgoing commander
Patrick Appleman, director of the U.S. Army Installation Management Command-Readiness, hosted Thursday’s ceremony.
Appleman said that during the past two years that Wilcox has led the installation, he was involved in the post being renamed from Fort Bragg to Fort Liberty, and managed an “Army-level” crisis of failures of the ventilation system in the Smoke Bomb Hill barracks shortly after taking command.
Wilcox helped relocate 1,200 soldiers from the barracks and coordinated the renovation of five of the buildings, demolition of the remaining 12 buildings and moving soldiers back in within 18 months, Appleman said.
He credited Wilcox for also overseeing infrastructure projects that included modernizing heating and ventilation systems in soldier quarters across the garrison, repairing 100 miles of roads and “leading Fort Liberty out of the adversity impacts” of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Fort Liberty’s population makes it the sixth largest city in North Carolina with nine schools, 12 child development centers, 14 fitness facilities, 14,600 acres of training land and more than 280,000 people who visit the post daily, said Lt. Gen. Christopher Donahue, senior commander for Fort Liberty and the 18th Airborne Corps.
Donahue said Wilcox and the garrison team responded to “any type of crisis,” that came up, including trash piling up on post after a contactor had equipment issues.
He credited Wilcox for ensuring the Sunset Liberty March — a tradition that started last year on the eve of Fort Liberty's renaming — is held daily.
Wilcox thanked his family, the garrison’s program directors, firefighters, the range team, volunteers, deputy garrison commander Kevin Griess, garrison Command Sgt. Maj. Gregory Seymour and the 2,300 soldiers and civilians who are part of the garrison team.
“While our warfighters are preparing for the needs of the nation, you show up every single day to make certain that, amongst other things, the power turns on, the water runs, our children are enriched and protected, our roads function, our houses are livable and bearable and our communities are safe,” he said.
He said some of the highlights during his time as commander included emerging from the pandemic to reconnect with the community; seeing ranges modernize for unmanned aerial vehicle and data technology use; and the community coming together to rename the installation.
“Regardless of your feelings of the directive, every single person here, every member of this installation, can rest assured this new name is one befitting of history and culture — the great men and women who served here every single day serve for the cause of liberty,” Wilcox said. “To solidify this change, we put in place the Sunset Liberty March, which simultaneously ensures that we honor that history and the culture of the units here. We also at the same time commit ourselves every night to never forget the sacrifices that were made for our great nation.”
New commander
Wilcox told Nixon to invest in the team and trust in them.
Donahue said Mixon is an “action taker, who is ready to take over the challenges,” at Fort Liberty “and lead it into the future.”
Mixon is no stranger to the installation, starting his Army career in 1993 as an enlisted infantryman with the 82nd Airborne Division's 1st Battalion, 325th Airborne Infantry Regiment, according to his biography.
In 2000, he commissioned as an officer through Campbell University, has held several spots under the U.S. Army Special Operations Command and was deputy chief of staff for the U.S. Army Forces Command.
He was also battalion commander for the 307th Brigade Support Battalion under the 82nd Airborne Division and chief of operations for the Joint Special Operations Command’s logistics division.
"Our garrison mission remains clear to provide unwavering support to the warfighters to ensure their readiness to deploy, fight and win …,” Mixon said at Thursday’s ceremony. “To the soldiers, you are the heart and soul of Fort Liberty. Your professionalism, courage, dedication inspire me every day, and my pledge to you is to ensure that this installation has resources and support that you need to carry out your mission.”
Staff writer Rachael Riley can be reached at rriley@fayobserver.com or 910-486-3528.
