FORT RILEY —Major General Joseph Martin turned over command of the 1st Infantry Division to Major General John Kolasheski Friday morning at the Fort Riley Cavalry Parade Field.
Change of command ceremony Friday at Fort Riley
According to a media release. Major General Martin assumed command of the 1st Inf. Div. in October 2016 and shortly thereafter deployed with the Big Red One headquarters toIraq, where the division took command of the Combined Joint Forces Land Component Command – Operation Inherent Resolve in November 2016. While deployed, the division headquarters provided command and control of
Coalition troops training, advising and assisting Iraqi Security Forces.
During that time, 1.8 million people were liberated in Mosul, Iraq, which had been under ISIS control since June 2014. While the headquarters wasdeployed, more than 350,000 children returned to school in Mosul, 320 schools reopened and 195,000 internally displaced persons returned to their homes in Iraq’s second-largest city. Under the 1st Inf. Div.’s leadership, 30,000 Iraqi Security Forces Soldiers were trained.
Maj. Gen. John S. Kolasheski most recently served as deputy chief of staff, G-3/5/7, for the U.S. Army Forces Command at Fort Bragg, North Carolina. He previously served with the 1st Inf. Div. as the division’s deputy commanding general for maneuver from June 2015 to May 2016, and in various positions with the division from July 2001 to May 2005.