Brig. Gen. John P. “Pete” Johnson was named the 49th commanding general of Fort Jackson, the Army’s largest initial training base. The change of command at Victory Field took place amid the pomp of a ceremony that dates back to the American Revolution. Johnson took the installation’s flag from Maj. Gen. Anthony C. Funkhouser, commanding general, Center for Initial Military Training. Johnson will assume command from Maj. Gen. Roger L. Cloutier, Jr., who is leaving Fort Jackson to become the chief of staff for U.S. Africa Command in Stuttgart, Germany. “This is one of the nation’s best military communities, no question about it,” Cloutier said in his remarks before about 150 guests, both civilian and military. “This will be your best tour, hands down.”
Fort Jackson currently pumps about $2 billion a year into the Midlands economy, according a study commissioned by the S.C. Department of Commerce. About $40 million of that is direct spending by families. Since Cloutier took command, the Army announced Fort Jackson will receive an 11th training battalion in October 2017, a move that would boost the post’s local economic impact and increase its value to the Army in the face of expected budget cuts. Johnson, in his first press conference Friday, said he is not yet aware of any major changes to staffing or the number of soldiers to be trained at the base in the future. “There’s a lot of swirl out there,” he said. “Our mission is just to watch our lane. ... The priority is to focus on the here and now, and when the decisions are made you deal with them.” Read More