FORT BLISS, Texas – Col. Tobin A. Magsig assumed the duties as commander of U.S. Army Joint Modernization Command from Brig. Gen. Johnny K. Davis during a change-of-command ceremony June 15 at the command’s headquarters.
Lt. Gen. Eric Wesley, deputy commanding general of U.S. Army Futures Command and director of the Futures and Concepts Center, hosted the ceremony. Because of COVID-19 pandemic restrictions, Wesley hosted the ceremony virtually from FCC headquarters in Virginia. The ceremony was steamed live on JMC’s Facebook page.
Wesley praised the leadership of Davis and Magsig and spoke about how JMC has transformed itself to better serve the Army Modernization Enterprise.
“Change is where leaders thrive, and we have two great leaders right here in front of us,” Wesley said. “JMC spawns the idea of change and fathers and authors the idea of change. This organization has postured itself to be a key enabler for how the Army will change in the future. Since the beginning of JMC, which was the Future Force Integration Directorate when it started back in 2006, JMC has not only made significant impact on how the Army thinks, on how the Army learns and how the Army integrates capabilities, but JMC continues to redefine itself in order to accomplish those tasks. We could not have this organization without the vision of a guy like Johnny Davis or the capacity of a young man like Tobin Magsig, who is about ready to take these colors.”
Prior to assuming command of JMC, Magsig served as the executive officer to the commanding general of the U.S. Army Forces Command. Magsig’s operational experience includes a deployment to Kosovo in support of Operation Joint Guard, three deployments to Iraq in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom and nine deployments to Afghanistan in support of Operation Enduring Freedom.
“Magsig has distinguished himself as a great warrior/leader,” Wesley said. “There is nobody better than somebody who has been accomplished at every single echelon in combat to show us how we need to move forward.”
After Magsig officially took command of JMC, he thanked Gen. John Murray, commander of Army Futures Command, for the opportunity.
“I’ve eagerly followed this enterprise since its inception, and I could not be more excited to join your team and do my part to advance the Army’s modernization efforts,” Magsig said.
After serving as the Commanding General of JMC from 2018-2020, Davis is headed to Army Futures Command, located in Austin, Texas, on the University of Texas campus, where he will serve as the chief of staff. AFC was formed in 2018 to integrate all aspects of Army modernization underneath a unified headquarters. JMC serves as the operational arm of AFC, incorporating Soldier feedback during live experimentation to modernize the Army.
“Two years ago, I had a vision for JMC was that it would serve as the Army’s lead for warfighting concepts and capability assessments and supporting modernization to ensure the force wins in a complex world,” Davis said during the ceremony. “A lot has changed in two years. Since then our focus has matured, and now we conduct exportable, scalable live field experiments and assessments anywhere in the world to validate Multi-Domain Operations, concepts, capabilities and formations, leading to a future all-domain force. No other organization in the Army has transformed to do what we do.”
Though only a few could attend the ceremony, more than 200 people tuned in to watch it virtually.
“These virtual ceremonies are not easy to do,” Magsig said. “In fact, in the middle of a pandemic, we could have thought of any reason not to do today’s ceremony, but I’m glad we did. These are important traditions in our Army, and it marks an important milestone in the lifecycle of this unit.”
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