Col. Marcus Hunter speaks after taking command of U.S. Army Garrison Japan at Camp Zama, Friday, July 7, 2023. (Juan King/Stars and Stripes)
CAMP ZAMA, Japan — A brigade commander who last served in Washington state became the new commander of U.S. Army Garrison Japan during a handover ceremony Friday.
Col. Marcus Hunter, previously commander of 1st Battalion, 5th Security Force Assistance Brigade at Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Wash., took charge of the Army garrison from Col. Christopher Tomlinson in front of approximately 300 people inside Kizuna Hall at Camp Zama.
Craig Deatrick, director of U.S. Army Installation Management Command-Pacific, presided over the command change at Zama, headquarters of U.S. Army Japan 26 miles southwest of central Tokyo.
Hunter is a graduate of the Brigham Young University ROTC Program and the U.S. Naval War College Command and Staff program and has deployed to Afghanistan three times in support of Operation Enduring Freedom, according to his Army biography. He has served around the world in Latin America, Europe, Africa and the Indo-Pacific region.
“I'm truly grateful for the privilege to join this historic team and to serve alongside each and every one of you here today,” he told the audience. “I’d like to say I'm indebted; we are guests in this majestic country. We share the happiness, values and ideals of a free and open Indo-Pacific. I look forward to the many ways in which to cultivate relationships with trust respect and true friendships.”
Tomlinson, who took charge of the garrison in July 2021, in the depths of the COVID-19 pandemic, steered it through that episode, Deatrick said during the ceremony.
U.S. Army Garrison Japan's outgoing commander, Col. Christopher Tomlinson, speaks during a change-of-command ceremony at Camp Zama, Friday, July 7, 2023. (Juan King/Stars and Stripes)
Tomlinson also acquired funding for new living quarters and myriad other construction projects and helped strengthen partnerships both inside and outside Zama’s gates, Deatrick told the audience.
Turning to Hunter, Tomlinson said: “You have already brought excellence to this organization. I am confident the success that we have enjoyed will continue to thrive and continue under your command.”
The garrison commander has charge of the headquarters post and 15 other Army facilities throughout Japan, which support 12,000 service members, Defense Department employees, their families and Japanese employees.
The changeover follows the June 20 arrival of Maj. Gen. David Womack as the new commander of U.S. Army Japan. He took over for Maj. Gen. Joel “JB” Vowell during a ceremony at Camp Zama.
A native of Gruver, Texas, Tomlinson is moving to Vicenza, Italy, to become the assistant chief of staff for intelligence at Southern European Task Force – Africa.
“I could not have asked for a more incredible assignment in the most beautiful country, Japan,” Tomlinson said. “In the last two years we have set the example of demonstrating a true alliance.”
