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New commander takes charge at Lewis

FORT LEWIS, Wash. — Against a looming gray sky, Lt. Gen. Charles H. Jacoby Jr. took command of this Army base Monday as Gen. Charles C. Campbell, head of the U.S. Army Forces Command, ceremonially passed the brightly colored I Corps banners.

Jacoby told an audience of military personnel and community leaders that taking care of soldiers and building a strong Army would be at the forefront of his agenda.

“For me, taking care of soldiers and their families is as critical to any mission we have,” Jacoby said. “Every soldier and every family counts.”

Jacoby, 52, follows Lt. Gen. James Dubik as the 62nd commanding general of this post south of Tacoma. Dubik left in May to oversee the training of Iraqi military and police forces. Brig. Gen. William Troy temporarily took over base operations.

After the ceremonial passing of the colors, Campbell praised Jacoby as a leader and a fighter.

“What you need to know about Chuck Jacoby is that he has made his way in the Army by taking on difficult tasks and excelling in them,” Campbell said.

Previously, Jacoby served as the head of the U.S. Army in Alaska where he oversaw buildups at Fort Richardson near Anchorage and Fort Wainwright near Fairbanks. He also helped families cope when the 172nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team stayed an additional four months in Iraq before returning to Alaska in December.

Two of Fort Lewis’ Stryker teams are deployed in Iraq. The 2nd Infantry Division’s 3rd Brigade has been in Iraq since June 2006 and the 4th Brigade left for Iraq in April.

Jacoby will also oversee a possible merger of many administrative functions between Fort Lewis and nearby McChord Air Force Base.

Under his command, Jacoby said Fort Lewis would continue to develop as a modular brigade-based Army post that responds to regional, national and international needs. Over the past 2½ years, 25,000 active-duty soldiers and reservists were deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan from Fort Lewis.

“Fort Lewis has been there since the beginning and will be there until we finish the nation’s calling,” Jacoby said.

Jacoby, who graduated from West Point in 1978, has served at Fort Bragg, N.C.; Schofield Barracks, Hawaii; Honduras; Fort Benning, Ga.; Washington D.C.; and Afghanistan.

He has experience as a paratrooper and combat experience in Afghanistan and Grenada.

Gun rights activists in Alaska criticized Jacoby last spring when he forbade Alaska-based soldiers from carrying concealed weapons on or off post after a number of gun-related incidents involving soldiers.

Retired Gen. John Shalikashvili, former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and U.S. Rep. Adam Smith, D-Wash., were among those on hand for Monday’s ceremony.