SCOTT AIR FORCE BASE, Illinois -- The Military Surface Deployment and Distribution Command (SDDC) recently welcomed new leadership to the headquarters command group with the arrivals of a new deputy commander and chief of staff.

Cols. Deacon Maddox and Lillard Evans have a combined total of 50 years of service in the U.S. Army and bring a wealth of knowledge and experience to SDDC.

Maddox is SDDC's new deputy commander. He comes from command of the Letterkenny Army Depot in Chambersburg, Pennsylvania. His career began in 1994 when he entered the U.S. Army Ordnance Corps following graduation from the Virginia Military Institute.

He is a veteran of Operations Iraqi Freedom and Joint Endeavor, and has more than 14 years of tactical experience leading troops at the platoon, company, and battalion levels. Additionally, he has two years of Organic Industrial Base experience commanding Army civilians at the brigade level and served a joint tour at the White House Military Office as a Logistics Program Manager.

Evans, SDDC's new chief of staff, is very familiar with the command. In his previous assignment, he served as the commander of SDDC's 595th Transportation Brigade, headquartered at Camp Arifjan, Kuwait.

Evans earned his commission as a Transportation Corps officer in 1990 through the South Carolina State University ROTC program and has served in multiple staff and leadership roles across the Army.

In his first meeting with his staff directors, the new chief made his role clear. "My job is to help the commanding general achieve mission success," said Evans. "Nobody can be successful as a staff member if they don't know the CG's intent."