Soldiers bearing colors of units within the Army's 19th Theater Support Command execute drill maneuvers during Friday morning's unit change-of-command ceremony at Camp Walker in Taegu, South Korea. Maj. Gen. Jeanette K. Edmunds completed a two-year assignment as 19th TSC commander and moves to a key Pentagon logistics assignment. The unit's new commander is Brig. Gen. Timothy P. McHale. (Courtesy of the U.S. Army)
Soldiers bearing colors of units within the Army's 19th Theater Support Command execute drill maneuvers during Friday morning's unit change-of-command ceremony at Camp Walker in Taegu, South Korea. Maj. Gen. Jeanette K. Edmunds completed a two-year assignment as 19th TSC commander and moves to a key Pentagon logistics assignment. The unit's new commander is Brig. Gen. Timothy P. McHale. (Courtesy of the U.S. Army)
On parade ground at Camp Walker in Taegu, South Korea, soldiers of 19th Theater Support Command pass in review during Friday's ceremony at which the unit leadership was formally changed. (Courtesy of the U.S. Army)
Maj. Gen. Jeanette K. Edmunds, left, takes part in a parade ground ceremony during which command of the unit passes to Brig. Gen. Timothy McHale. (third from left) Friday at Camp Walker in Taegu, South Korea. Handing colors to Edmunds is the unit's Command Sgt. Maj. Larry C. Taylor. At extreme left is Lt. Gen. Charles C. Campbell, comnmander of 8th U.S. Army, parent unit of the 19th TSC. (Courtesy of the U.S. Army)
Saying he was excited and humbled, Brig. Gen. Timothy P. McHale took command of the U.S. military’s senior logistics arm in South Korea during a Friday change-of-command ceremony at Camp Walker in Taegu.
McHale replaces Maj. Gen. Jeanette K. Edmunds as commander of the 19th Theater Support Command.
Edmunds moves to the Pentagon to become the Army’s assistant chief of staff, logistics. When Edmunds assumed command of the unit in September 2002, she became the first female general to hold command in South Korea.
McHale comes to Taegu from Seoul, where he served as U.S. Forces Korea assistant chief of staff, logistics.
The 19th TSC’s main wartime mission is to receive and stage the troops, equipment and supplies that would flow into South Korea after an outbreak of war and move them to the combat zone. It also would provide maintenance, supply and transportation support to combat forces.
At Friday’s ceremony on Kelly Field, more than 1,600 troops stood in formation on the parade ground, with about 350 guests in bleachers. The 8th Army Band played a series of marches during the ceremony and a South Korean Army artillery unit fired a 13-gun salute.
“Two years ago, Maj. Gen. Edmunds assumed command of the 19th TSC at a point of transition,” Lt. Gen. Charles C. Campbell, 8th Army commander told the assemblage. “The 19th TSC was just starting the process of divesting itself of its base operation functions and becoming singularly focused on the operational logistics mission for the Korea theater.
“The 19th TSC could not have been more superbly led during this transitional period. Through an innovative and balanced approach, Jan shifted the spirit and focus of the 19th TSC. She trained her soldiers in the warfighting skills necessary to meet the ‘fight tonight’ imperative of this theater while ensuring that they maintained their full array of technical competencies.”
Campbell then called McHale “a great logistician and a superb leader.”
In her remarks, Edmunds said in part, “It is absolutely true that if my own head has ever risen above the crowd, it has been because I have been standing on the shoulders of giants. … Ladies and gentlemen, to my subordinates I do owe everything — and I thank them from the bottom of my heart for a great ride.”
McHale said he was “excited and humbled,” and in brief remarks told the soldiers and family members that, “together, we will get the mission accomplished while always taking care of our people. ‘Trained and ready … standards and discipline’ will be our watchwords.”
McHale was commissioned a second lieutenant in 1977 and began his career in transportation units. He’s held a variety of logistics posts, including assignments to the 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) at Fort Campbell, Ky., and at the joint staff of the Pentagon. He holds a bachelor’s degree in philosophy from St. John’s University. Among other qualifications, he has earned the Senior Army Aviation Badge, Parachutist Badge, First Class Diver Badge, Air Assault Badge and Ranger Tab.
