SIERRA ARMY DEPOT, Calif. – The Sierra Army Depot community said farewell to one commander and welcomed another at a June 10, 2025 Change of Command ceremony steeped in rich history and tradition.
After leading the depot for two years, Lt. Col. Jason A. Haynes relinquished his responsibilities to Lt. Col. Shivnesh S. Kumar. Maj. Gen. Michael B. Lalor, commanding general of U.S. Army Tank-automotive and Armaments Command, officiated the event.
“I am honored and extremely proud to be the newest member of the Sierra Army Depot team and serve as your 45th commander,” Kumar said to an audience of Soldiers, Civilians, family members and distinguished guests.
“The one constant since 1942 has been our people – a professional and empowered workforce that has met every challenge and change by prioritizing collaboration and committing to a shared responsibility to provide responsive materiel readiness and unique sustainment solutions to support the Army and the Joint Force.”
In his remarks, Lalor praised both the outgoing and incoming commanders and highlighted SIAD’s recent successes.
Under Haynes’ leadership, the depot developed the Army's Strategic Reserve Center; delivered mission-critical materiel to U.S. forces worldwide; and successfully completed global support missions to Rapid Removal of Excess operations and humanitarian relief. Those efforts earned SIAD runner-up status in the depot category of the 2023 and 2025 Army Award for Maintenance Excellence.
Lalor said Haynes spearheaded SIAD’s modernization.
“I pushed hard on trying to get to a better and even more precise level in inventory management. To that end, we now have under way the Naval Autonomous Data Collection System,” Lalor said. “I believe this place will be the West Coast hub of logistics for the U.S. Army. When called, this place will come running for America!”
When he took the podium, Haynes reflected on his time at SIAD with gratitude and pride. He is moving on to be the logistics officer branch chief at the U.S. Army Human Resources Command in Fort Knox, Ky.
“I had the extraordinary honor of serving along the most talented, hardworking and dedicated individuals I have ever met in my career,” Haynes said. “We solve national level logistics problems at scale, in an environment where failure is not an option. I am proud to have served with you.”
As SIAD’s new commander, Kumar brings a wealth of logistical and leadership development experience to the role. He most recently served as chief of the Joint Logistics Operations Center for the J4, U.S. Indo-Pacific Command, at Camp H.M. Smith in Hawaii.
A logistician, Kumar was commissioned as a quartermaster officer in 2007 after graduating from the University of California, Santa Barbara. His service has included various duty positions at locations across the United States and overseas.
He served with the 506th Infantry Regiment, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault), Fort Campbell, Ky.; 10th Special Forces Group (Airborne), 1st Special Forces Command (Airborne), Fort Carson, Colo.; and the Combined Arms Support Command, Fort Lee, Va.; 25th Combat Aviation Brigade, 25th Infantry Division (Tropic Lightning), Wheeler Army Airfield, Hawaii; and United States Indo-Pacific Command, Camp H.M. Smith, Hawaii. His key development assignments have included the former Army Logistics University at Fort Lee and 25th Combat Aviation Brigade, 25th Infantry Division, at Wheeler Army Airfield in Hawaii.
Kumar’s operational experience includes service as a platoon leader from 2008-2009 and as a forward support company executive officer from 2010-2011 during Operation Enduring Freedom. In 2016, he was a forward support company commander during Operation Freedom’s Sentinel.
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