The new commander of the Aviation and Missile Command and senior commander of Redstone Arsenal isn't exactly a newcomer.
In fact Maj. Gen. Lynn Collyar, a Huntsville native, has returned home.
"I claim this as my hometown," said Collyar, who was born in Stillwater, Okla. He graduated from Huntsville High School in 1975 and his father, Leo, and mother, Darlene, both worked at Redstone Arsenal. Leo, who died in 1997, retired in 1988 from the then Missile Command.
Collyar played on the golf team at Huntsville High and is an avid sports fan.
He decided in middle school that he was going to West Point but his goal was to serve five years and then leave the Army. He said he never expected to stay for what has now become 33 years.
"Huntsville's such a great town, and the memories of growing up and getting the good education that allowed me to get into West Point," he said.
Collyar, 55, said he has enjoyed every tour he's ever had, but this one is special.
"I have been looking forward to this for a long time, getting back here," he said.
Asked about AMCOM's mission, he said, "Missile and aviation are two of the keystones for the Army in the future."
Collyar succeeded retiring Maj. Gen. Jim Rogers as AMCOM's commander in a change of command ceremony Friday at Bob Jones Auditorium. He previously served as the director of logistics operations for the Defense Logistics Agency, Fort Belvoir, Va., since August 2010.
As an ammunition officer he came to Redstone in 1983 for the advanced course at the Ordnance school. He would later become the Army's 35th chief of Ordnance. The Ordnance Munitions and Electronics Maintenance School moved last year to Fort Lee, Va., under base realignment and closure.
Collyar and his wife, Col. Sarah Green, have been married since October 1999. They originally met in the Pentagon. A Memphis native, she will become the staff judge advocate for the Space and Missile Defense Command/Army Forces Strategic Command.
"I know a lot of people" in the local community, Collyar said. "And I look forward to the opportunity to work with them."
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