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Post welcomes new garrison commander
By Robert Timmons, Fort Jackson Public Affairs
Fort Jackson welcomed Col. David G. Gaugush as garrison commander in a ceremony, June 17.
Gaugush took command from Col. Timothy Hickman in an event held at Victory Field.
Gaugush comes to Fort Jackson from Fort Bragg, North Carolina where he was chief of staff for the 1st Special Forces Command (Airborne).
He officially began his first tour at Fort Jackson when he received the garrison colors from William Kidd, director, IMCOM-Training Directorate.
The main portion of the change of command ceremony is the passing of the garrison colors. The colors are the commander’s symbol of authority, representing his responsibilities to the organization. The garrison colors are present wherever the garrison commander is.
“Competence is not enough,” Kidd said during the ceremony. “You have to be the best, doing your best each and every day, and the best is what Fort Jackson got from Col. Hickman. Fort Jackson is about people, for people, producing people for the Army, and his leadership focused on people.”
Hickman invested in his team to build a “high-performing team,” Kidd added.
Gaugush is now in charge of every day operations of the installation, and overseeing the civilians who keep the post’s infrastructure running. The garrison is run by “skilled, dedicated hands of (Department of the) Army Civilians, contractors and volunteers” who operate the post.
“We warmly welcome Col. Gaugush and his wife, and their Family to the IMCOM team and to the helm of the garrison here at Fort Jackson,” Kidd said to the new commander.
Gaugush is a “highly experienced Special Operations leader who has served in demanding tactical and strategic roles all over the world,” he added. He will be one of the multiple Green Berets to serve as a garrison commander in the IMCOM Training Directorate.
The new garrison commander was raised in Ridgefield, Connecticut and attended Texas Tech University. He enlisted in 1996 as an infantryman and was assigned to the 1st Ranger Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment. He would be commissioned after completing Officer Candidate School at Fort Benning, Georgia in 2001.
He attended the Special Forces Qualification Course at Fort Bragg in 2004 and has held multiple assignments in the special operations community.
He has deployed multiple times to Afghanistan and Iraq in support of operations Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom. He also deployed to Africa and Europe in support of numerous contingency operations and other special operations activities.
