Col. Benjamin Kilgore assumed command of the Tobyhanna Army Depot in a military ceremony Wednesday.
Kilgore takes over from Col. James L. Crocker, who will be leaving the depot to take a new assignment in Army Materiel Command’s G-3, officials said in a release.
Maj. Gen. James D. Turinetti IV, commanding general of the U.S. Army Communications-Electronics Command, presided over the ceremony, which was attended by depot workforce, elected officials, community partners and members of the Crocker and Kilgore families.
“I am honored to serve as Tobyhanna’s 36th commander," Kilgore said. "Across the Department of Defense, Tobyhanna is known as a community of dedicated professionals who ensure that our joint force remains mission ready.”
Kilgore most recently served as the chief of staff at Defense Logistics Agency Energy. He holds a master of arts in strategic studies from the Army War College, a master of arts in higher education administration from the University of Louisville and a masters in managerial logistics from North Dakota State University.
Prior to attending the Army War College, Kilgore was assigned to Army Futures Command, where he served as the assistant chief of staff G4 for Joint Modernization Command at Fort Bliss, Texas.
3,100 employees and a global mission
The depot, which covers 1,200 acres in Coolbaugh Twp., Monroe County, has 3,100 employees. It provides equipment and technical support for all six branches of the United States Armed Forces, other government agencies and allies around the world. As reported by WVIA earlier this year, the depot's typical workload today is about $500 million across its various customers.
The base is designated as the Department of Defense's Center of Industrial and Technical Excellence for Command, Control, Communications, Computers, Cyber, Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (C5ISR), electronics, avionics, and missile guidance and control, which includes the first microelectronics lab in the Army Organic Industrial Base.
Crocker highlighted that new operation in his parting remarks.
“At Tobyhanna, we ensure C5ISR readiness for warfighters worldwide. Our accomplishments, over the past two years, while important for us as an organization, were all aimed at delivering key warfighting capabilities at speed and scale,” Crocker said.
As Army officials said when the facility opened, its role is to help address supply chain hurdles faced by the armed forces and reduce the military's reliance on foreign electronics suppliers to provide microelectronics components to develop and sustain weapons systems.
“The establishment of our microelectronics facility, which was unveiled earlier this month, has positioned Tobyhanna as the only organic supplier of circuit card assemblies for our warfighters, reducing the need to rely upon external sources,” Crocker said.
Those priorities are very much on Kilgore's mind.
“As we look ahead, Team Tobyhanna will continue to drive forward in alignment with CECOM’s (U.S. Army Communications-Electronics Command) top priorities — particularly in supporting the Army’s transformation strategy and enhancing readiness across the joint force," Kilgore said.
"From sustaining and upgrading C5ISR systems to advancing capabilities in microelectronics, our work ensures that the joint force remains lethal, agile and technologically superior,” he added.
