The U.S. Army 7th Signal Command (Theater) held a change of responsibility ceremony at Club Meade at Fort George G. Meade, Maryland Wednesday, September 7. Command Sgt. Maj. Michael K. Starrett relinquished responsibility to Command Sgt. Maj. Timothy D. McGuire.
Presiding over the ceremony was Brig. Gen. Charles R. “Rob” Parker, Commanding General, 7th Signal Command (Theater) and Deputy Commanding General, U.S. Army Network Enterprise Command. He praised Command Sgt. Maj. Starrett for helping lead the organization for nearly two years during a very challenging time, as the command moved its headquarters location from Fort Gordon, Georgia to Fort Meade, Maryland in 2021.
“Have we largely accomplished what the Army has asked us to do in an extremely short amount of time? We absolutely have,” said Brig. Gen. Parker. “And I tell you we’ve done this because of the great leadership of Command Sgt. Maj. Starrett.”
Command Sgt. Maj. Starrett said he was honored to serve as 7th Signal Command (Theater) Command Sergeant Major, and thanked the teams he served with at the command as well as the subordinate 21st, 93d, and 106th Signal Brigades. He added the command has made impressive progress from where it was at just a year ago.
“Last year at this time, we had a lot of work to do to get to full operational capability,” said Starrett. “People were filling in and making do, to get the mission done. In the past year, our team has without a doubt, risen to the occasion."
Assuming responsibility as the command’s highest enlisted Soldier is Command Sgt. Maj. Timothy D. McGuire. McGuire has served in various positions and assignments throughout his career, including as Command Sergeant Major for the 39th Strategic Signal Battalion, FORSCOM Senior Information Systems Chief and, most recently, Command Sergeant Major for the Joint Communications Support Element, MacDill Air Force Base, Tampa, Florida. He has deployed multiple times while attached to various Special Forces teams as well as the Joint Special Operations Command.
The 7th Signal Command conducts DoD Information Network (DODIN) Operations in the continental United States (CONUS) to enable all warfighting functions for the Army and Joint Force. Its three subordinate brigades are the 93d Signal Brigade headquartered at Fort Eustis, Virginia; 106th Signal Brigade at Fort Sam Houston, Texas; and the 21st Signal Brigade at Fort Detrick, Maryland. The CONUS Theater Network Operations and Security Center (2nd Signal Center) stationed at Fort Huachuca, Arizona, and the South Theater Network Operations and Security Center at Fort Gordon, Georgia are also assigned to the 7th Signal Command.
The 7th Signal Command was activated on 1 July 1975 at Fort Ritchie Maryland and was tasked to oversee and support all CONUS signal operations, complementing 5th Signal Command in Europe and 6th Signal Command in the Pacific. The command provided communications, automation, visual information, printing and publications, and records management services to CONUS army units.
The 7th Signal Command was deactivated on 1 October 1993 and its functional support components were redistributed to Fort Detrick, Maryland and several other posts. On July 22, 2008, the 7th Signal Command was reactivated at Fort Gordon, Georgia as part of the “Grow the Army" initiative. On September 2, 2021, the Command uncased its flags at Fort Meade, Maryland, establishing a second headquarters element. The Command now executes split-based operations with intelligence, operations, planning, and select special and personal staff functions at Fort Meade, Maryland. The personnel, acquisition, and resource management functions remain at Fort Gordon, Georgia.
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