Photo By Sgt. 1st Class Roberto Di Giovine | U.S. Army National Guard Soldiers with 59th Aviation Troop Command (ATC), South...... read more read more
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Columbia, S.C. – The 59th Aviation Troop Command, South Carolina Army National Guard, conducted a change of command ceremony, June 6, 2021, at McEntire Joint National Guard Base, South Carolina, to recognize the outgoing commander and welcome the incoming commander.
U.S. Army Col. John McElveen will serve as the next commander of the 59th Aviation Troop Command. McElveen is taking command from U.S. Army Col. James Fidler.
“Being selected [for this position] is special to me because it allows me the opportunity to continue to lead at the tactical, operational, and strategic levels in Army Aviation,” said McElveen.
The 59th Aviation Troop Command is responsible for the peace time leadership of all South Carolina Army National Guard aviation units, as well as supports wartime mobilizations of these units. The adjutant general charges the 59th Aviation Troop Command with providing command and control for Army aviation missions during military support to civilian authority operations. These operations include, but are not limited to: hurricane support, homeland defense operations, firefighting, and disaster relief. The unit is headquartered at McEntire Joint National Guard Base in Eastover, South Carolina, with an additional aviation support facility in Greenville.
McElveen joined the South Carolina National Guard in 1989 while attending Sumter High School as a junior. He attended the Army's Basic Combat Training at Fort Jackson, South Carolina, between his junior and senior year of high school, prior to going to Fort Rucker, Alabama, to learn how to work on UH-1 helicopters. He has served his entire 32-year career as a South Carolina National Guard Soldier with two separate assignments as a company commander—one over a UH-60 Black Hawk company and one over an AH-64 Apache company in combat. He has served in key development positions at battalion level as the operations officer and the executive officer of the 1-151st Attack Reconnaissance Battalion (ARB). Following those assignments, he was selected and served as the battalion commander of the 1-151st ARB. McElveen was one of three people in the nation chosen to fill an active duty role as the deputy brigade commander with the 3rd Combat Aviation Brigade while deployed in Afghanistan.
“The officers, warrant officers, and non-commissioned officers in the South Carolina Army National Guard aviation community are driven to be the best in the world, and this attitude becomes infectious to those around them. It is an honor to serve with them, and the day I retire, I will miss this the most,” said McElveen.
McElveen is a current resident and originally from Sumter, South Carolina.
| Date Taken: | 06.17.2021 |
| Date Posted: | 06.17.2021 14:41 |
| Story ID: | 399200 |
| Location: | COLUMBIA, SOUTH CAROLINA, US |
| Web Views: | 737 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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