JFTB’s 40th Infantry Division to hold change of command ceremony Sunday, September 16

The following information was released by the California National Guard.

Brig. Gen. Keith D. Jones will take command of the 40th Infantry Division during a ceremony Sept. 16 at 11 a.m., on Joint Forces Training Base (JFTB), Los Alamitos, succeeding Maj. Gen. Scott Johnson.

Jones will command the 40th ID in his traditional, part-time National Guard role. He is also the full-time commander of the Cal Guard training base Camp Roberts. Jones is expected to be promoted to major general in the near future in accordance with his new role at the 40th ID.

Jones previously served as the commander of the JFTB, where the 40th ID is based, for about two years, ending in June 2011. He assumed that role in 2009 after serving as the U.S. commander of the NATO peacekeeping mission in Kosovo. He has also served as the assistant commander for the 40th ID.

“Brigadier General Jones is enthusiastic about this new challenge and wholeheartedly accepts the increased responsibility as the Commander, 40th Infantry Division,” Brig. Gen. Donald Currier, commander of the California Army National Guard, wrote in a memo announcing the move. “Under his leadership, the 40th Infantry Division and Joint Forces Training Base (JFTB) have successfully assisted in developing the California Army National Guard into the warfighting multiplier and Army Standard Installation that it is today.”

Johnson plans to retire after completing his current assignment. A breakfast will be held in Johnson’s honor just prior to the change-of-command ceremony to wish him farewell. Immediately following the ceremony, Jones will host a reception as head of the Division.

The 40th ID is a multi-unit division that includes the Headquarters and Headquarters Battalion, the 1-185th Armor Battalion and the 1-144th Field Artillery Battalion. Members of the Division have served overseas in every major war since World War I.

Featured photo

File photo by C.E.H. Wiedel of Tojo’s Eagle framing the sunburst insignia of the 40th Infantry Division in the foyer of the 40th Infantry Division Headquarters on Los Alamitos Joint Forces Training Base.

The photo was taken prior to a bronze star awards ceremony on May 19, 2012.

The eagle was found in Korea following World War II and brought home by the 40th ID as a memorial to those who perished in the Pacific Theater during that conflict.

Originally, this Eagle was erected by the Japanese at their naval base at Chinhae, Korea, to commemorate the victory of Admiral Togo over the Russian Fleet at the Battle of Tsushima during the Russo-Japanese War.