'From great to great': Fort Liberty 18th Airborne Corps welcomes new senior enlisted leader

FORT LIBERTY — The 18th Airborne Corps thanked outgoing Command Sgt. Maj. T.J. Holland while welcoming incoming Command Sgt. Maj. Bryan Barker during a change of responsibility ceremony Friday at Fort Liberty.

Holland, who served as the senior enlisted leader for the Corps since June 2020, will remain in the area to serve as the next command sergeant major for the U.S. Army Forces Command.

Barker arrives at Fort Liberty in his first North Carolina tour, most recently serving as the command sergeant major for the U.S. Army Combat Capabilities Development Command.

Lt. Gen. Christopher Donahue, commander of the 18^th Airborne Corps and Fort Liberty, presided over Friday’s ceremony.

Outgoing leader

Donahue said that the Army’s noncommissioned corps is a “strategic advantage” to the U.S. military.

“Our command sergeant majors are a strategic capability that no other military has in the world — none — and as you look at these two great command sergeant majors, like anything in the Army, we go from great to great, and that's what we're doing,” Donahue said. “All the great things that Command Sgt. Maj. Holland has done, Command Sgt. Maj. Barker is going to do.”

During Holland’s 40 months on the job, Donahue said, he’s been part of several no-notice deployments, while helping oversee “the largest military installation in the world” by population.

Donahue said Holland was informed about barracks on the installation among other things, which included seeing Fort Bragg redesignate to Fort Liberty.

Last year, leaders deemed Smoke Bomb Hill barracks on post as substandard and oversaw moving more than 1,000 soldiers into other soldier living quarters.

Holland said the Corps insignia he’s worn the past few years is one that’s been handed down from “legend to legend” to include the Corps’ first Command Sgt. Maj. Kenneth “Rock” Merritt.  

“Today I’m transferring responsibility of this Corps and the insignia that represents generations of leaders who have forged the path ahead of myself and Brian Barker,” Holland said.

Incoming leader

According to Barker’s biography, he enlisted in the Army in June 1996 as an infantryman and served in various positions in that role, including operations sergeant major with 2nd Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment at then-Fort Benning, Georgia; command sergeant major of 1st Squadron, 91st Cavalry Regiment, 173rd Airborne Brigade in Vicenza, Italy; regimental command sergeant major of 3rd Cavalry Regiment at then-Fort Hood, Texas; command sergeant major for 5th Armor Brigade at Fort Bliss, Texas; and command sergeant major of the 101^st Airborne Division at Fort Campbell, Kentucky.

Barker’s combat deployments include six to Iraq in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom; eight to Afghanistan in support of Operation Enduring Freedom; and one deployment to Afghanistan in support of Operation Resolute Support.

“He knows how to do everything for this Army at this inflection point and what this Corps needs,” Donahue said.

Barker said he is “humbled” for the responsibility to lead soldiers to a unit with a “storied” history dating to World War II and continues not only on the battlefield but with humanitarian efforts, disaster relief and peacekeeping missions.

“I am acutely aware that the responsibility is not mine alone, but a collective endeavor. I pledge to work hand in hand with each soldier, civilian and partner fostering an environment of trust, mutual respect, and inclusivity,” Barker said. “Our strength lies not in our skills, but in the diversity of our experiences and perspectives that bring us each together to the table.”

Barker said he is confident that the Corps soldiers will “rise” to meet challenges in the “ever-changing world,” and that training will be rigorous to ensure the force is “formidable and agile ... to face any challenge anywhere at any time.”

Staff writer Rachael Riley can be reached at rriley@fayobserver.com or 910-486-3528.

This article originally appeared on The Fayetteville Observer: 18th Airborne Corps welcomes new enlisted leader on Fort Liberty