SANDSTON, Va. –
Col. Doyle Gillis, Jr. will take command of the Virginia Beach-based 329th Regional Support Group from Col. K. Weedon Gallagher, according to an announcement made July 12, 2018, by Maj. Gen. Timothy P. Williams, the Adjutant General of Virginia.
Williams also announced the Lt. Col. Carlos Hopkins will be reassigned as the staff judge advocate for the Fort Belvoir-based 29th Infantry Division in August, and he will be promoted to colonel. Lt. Col. Russell W. Woodlief will replace Hopkins as the staff judge advocate at Joint Force Headquarters, Virignia.
Chaplain (Lt. Col.) Benjamin J. Sprouse will be assigned as the senior chaplain at Joint Force Headquarters in October.
“Please join me in congratulating these outstanding officers on their new positions of increased responsibility,” Williams said in the announcement. “Each of these individuals holds a record of distinction and selfless service to our commonwealth and nation. With your continued support, I am confident they will lead the Virginia National Guard to great success in the future.”
Gillis currently serves as the Virginia Army National Guard’s deputy chief of staff for personnel at Fort Pickett in a full time status and will command the 329th in a traditional Guard status. Gallagher will be reassigned as the J8 resource management officer on the Virginia National Guard Joint Staff.
Gillis is a 1990 graduate of Christopher Newport University with a Bachelor of Science degree in Governmental Administration. He completed his Master of Public Administration in 1997 from Troy University and is a 2015 graduate of the U.S. Army War College. After serving on active duty and in the Army Reserve, Gillis joined the Virginia Army National Guard in 1989 and completed Virginia OCS in 1991.
His assignments include platoon leader, commander of Headquarters Battery, 1st Battalion, 111th Field Artillery Regiment, battalion intelligence officer and operations officer, brigade operations officer and battalion executive officer. He commanded the Gate City-based 1030th Transportation Battalion and later served as the deputy director of logistics, the deputy director of joint operations and deputy commander of the 183rd Regiment, Regional Training Institute.
Gillis has deployed three times. He served as a fire team leader during Operation Urgent Fury/Island Breeze in Grenada; as a strategic operations planner in support of Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan and as a combat advisor team commander in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom in Iraq.
Gallagher graduated from Virginia Military Institute with a bachelor of science degree in civil engineering and a commission as an Engineer Second Lieutenant in 1991. He served in numerous command and staff positions including platoon leader, company commander, battalion operations officer and executive officer and battalion commander.
He has deployed to Afghanistan three times including duty as the Kandahar Area Officer in Charge with the Afghanistan Engineer District and commander of 1297th Combat Sustainment Support Battalion.
After battalion command, he served in the State G3 and then as the division engineer officer and chief of protection for the 29th Infantry Division.
His military education includes a Master of Strategic Studies from the U.S. Army War College 2014, and graduation from Joint Forces College 2015.
In 2017, he graduated from the Harvard University Kennedy School of Government program in Leadership in Homeland Security.
Gallagher works full time as the owner of a small business specializing in facility management and electrical systems installations.