Col. Jon Meredith, left, and Col. Anthony Wilson were relieved as commanders of 1st Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division and 1st Cavalry Division Sustainment Brigade, respectively, at Fort Hood, Texas. (U.S. Army)
AUSTIN, Texas — Two brigade commanders within the 1st Cavalry Division at Fort Hood have been relieved of command because of a loss of confidence in their judgement and ability to command, according to officials at the Texas Army base.
Maj. Gen. John Richardson, commander of the 1st Cavalry Division, removed Col. Jon Meredith as commander of the division’s 1st Brigade Combat Team and Col. Anthony Wilson as commander of the 1st Cavalry Division Sustainment Brigade, said Col. Wayne Marotto, spokesman for Fort Hood.
“The cases are not related, and the reliefs were based on two separate investigations. To protect the privacy of the individuals involved, the Army does not comment on investigations,” Marotto said.
Those investigations are ongoing, he said.
Meredith took command of 1st Brigade in May 2021 while the unit was deployed to Poland. He stepped in after the previous commander, Col. Michael Schoenfeldt, was removed for bullying staff. At the time, Meredith pledged to “move forward and forge something new.”
Meredith’s past command positions included the 1st Battalion, 16th Infantry Regiment at Fort Riley, Kan., from 2016 to 2018, according to his official Army biography. He was the armor branch chief at Human Resources Command from 2018 to 2020.
His wife, Col. Ann Meredith, is the commander of Fort Hood’s 89th Military Police Brigade and is not under investigation, Marotto said.
Wilson took command of the sustainment brigade in June 2021, according to his official Army biography. Before coming to Fort Hood, Wilson was the division chief of plans and integration for the Army’s logistics office at the Pentagon. He also previously commanded the 548th Combat Sustainment Support Battalion at Fort Drum, N.Y.
An external review of Fort Hood released in December 2020 put the spotlight on the leadership within the 1st Cavalry Division because many of its brigades were found to have little trust between soldiers and leaders. Maj. Gen. Jeffery Broadwater, then division commander, was suspended while a new investigation occurred. That investigation cleared him just as Richardson stepped into command in July 2021.
