Change of Command planned for Joint Task Force-Micronesia

Leadership of 36th Wing, Joint Region Marianas, and the new Joint Task Force – Micronesia will change in May.

Air Force Brig. Gen. Thomas Palenske, commander 36th Wing, Andersen Air Force Base, will retire after 39 years of military service. Air Force Col. Charles Cooley, a command pilot, will assume command of 36th Wing at a change of command ceremony at Andersen Air Force Base, May 22. Cooley most recently served as deputy commander, 618th Air Operations Center, Scott Air Force Base, Illinois.

Brig. Gen. Thomas Palenske and Air Force Col. Charles Cooley

Navy Rear Adm. Brent DeVore, commander, JRM, a surface warfare officer, will leave Guam and assume command of Expeditionary Strike Group 3 in San Diego. Navy Rear Adm. Brett Mietus, a naval flight officer, will assume command of JRM during a ceremony at Guam High School on May 29. Mietus most recently served as commander, Patrol and Reconnaissance Group in Norfolk, Virginia.

Rear Adm. Brent DeVore and Rear Adm. Brett Mietus

Rear Adm. Greg Huffman, the first commander of Joint Task Force-Micronesia, will report to Naval Air Station Pensacola, Florida, where he will assume command of Navy Education and Training Command. Navy Rear Adm. Joshua Lasky, a Navy SEAL, will take over Joint Task Force, according to a press release. Lasky recently served as the deputy director, Joint Interagency Task Force South at Naval Air Station Key West, Florida.

Rear Adm. Greg Huffman and Rear Adm. Joshua Lasky

The Joint Task Force-Micronesia change of command ceremony will be held May 15 at the Marine Corps Base Camp Blaz Fitness Center.

Lasky’s role as the senior military officer in the region, will emphasize the Department of Defense’s support throughout the region, and bolster relationships with U.S. allies and partner nations in the joint operating area. The JTF-M joint operating includes U.S. territories — Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, and Wake Island — the Federated States of Micronesia, and Palau.

Joint Task Force-Micronesia was officially established on June 14, 2024, at Andersen Air Force Base, Guam. Adm. Samuel J. Paparo, commander of U.S. Indo-Pacific Command, presided over the ceremony, in which Huffman was named as commander. mbj

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Change of Command planned for Joint Task Force-Micronesia