FORT PICKETT, Va. –
Lt. Col. David G. Boyd took command of the Virginia National Guard’s Medical Command from Col. Thomas E. Koertge, Aug. 5, 2018, at Fort Pickett, Virginia. Col. James A. Zollar, chief of staff for the Virginia National Guard, presided over the exchange of organizational colors representing the transfer of authority from Koertge to Boyd.
“First of all I’d like to thank Tom for his outstanding leadership here at Medical Command over the past three years,” said Zollar. “One of the key indicators of your success is the state’s improvement in medical readiness. When he took command, Virginia was about 15th in the nation and due to his outstanding work, Virginia is now ranked number seven. This improvement is due in large part to the great work you and your Soldiers do, day in and day out, supporting our organization.”
“Your resilience, dedication to mission, selfless acts, support for each other, initiative and integrity have made this the most enjoyable and easiest command of my career,” Koertge said during his remarks. “It’s because of all of you Soldiers that Medical Command has been successful in its mission.”
Koertge served as the commander of Medical Command from June 2015 until August 2018 and will resume duty as a dentist, remaining at Medical Command.
“Is has been my pleasure to command you for the past three years and it is now time to pass the baton,” Koertge said to attendees. “I have absolutely the greatest confidence in turning over this command to Lt. Col. Boyd.”
Lt. Col. Boyd was previously assigned to the Fort Belvoir-based, 29th Infantry Division surgeon section serving as the medical operations officer. Much like Koertge, Boyd has a history spanning many assignments and he’s also worn the cloth of sister services. Boyd initially enlisted in the U.S. Navy as a hospital corpsman. He went on to receive an ROTC commission into the Virginia Army National Guard.
“No job is beneath a leader and every one of us, like it or not, are leaders,” Boyd expounded to the audience. “If we are good stewards of what has been given to us: time, people and resources; then we will always be able to complete, with excellence, the work of the State of Virginia and the Virginia Army National Guard entrusts us to do.”