The Army Reserve will soon welcome a new senior enlisted soldier.
Command Sgt. Maj. Jim Wills will succeed Command Sgt. Maj. Luther Thomas, who has been in the job since April 2013 and is moving on to serve as the next senior enlisted advisor to the assistant secretary of defense for manpower and reserve affairs.
The two senior noncommissioned officers will participate in a change of responsibility ceremony Jan. 8 at Fort Bragg, North Carolina.
Wills will serve as the Reserve's top NCO on an interim basis. This allows the new Army Reserve chief, who is expected to be named next year when Lt. Gen. Jeffrey Talley completes his tenure, to name his or her own command sergeant major, officials said.
In his new capacity, Wills will serve as the principal adviser to Talley for all enlisted matters. He also will advise Talley and other senior Army leaders on current policies, regulations and directives pertaining to the management of 205,000 Army Reserve soldiers on proper utilization of personnel, quality of life, personal and organizational equipment, and uniforms. He also will guide current and future development of the Reserve enlisted force and serve as an advisor to the Sergeant Major of the Army on Reserve enlisted matters.
Wills, who enlisted in the Army in 1984, is currently the command sergeant major of the 99th Regional Support Command at Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst in New Jersey.
He has deployed or mobilized in support of Operation Desert Storm and Operation Enduring Freedom.
