SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (WAND) - A soldier from Springfield was selected to be the sixth command chief warrant officer for the Illinois National Guard.
Thomas Black has previously served as the deputy of supply and logistics management for the supply and services division of the U.S. Property and Fiscal Office. His enlisted career was spent serving as a flight medic and automated logistics specialist before attending warrant officer candidate school at Fort Rucker, Ala., in 2005.
“Chief Black is a highly qualified, composed and engaging leader who has the right skill sets to cultivate the next generation of warrant officers and skillfully represent the warrant officer corps at the senior leadership level,” said Maj. Gen. Rich Neely, the adjutant general and commander of the Illinois National Guard.
“The Illinois Army National Guard’s warrant officer corps is stocked with technical experts who provide important technical advisement to officers and non-commissioned officers throughout the organization,” said Brig. Gen. Rodney Boyd, the assistant adjutant general-army and commander of the Illinois Army National Guard. “Tom brings tremendous expertise to this position. His leadership will energize the warrant officer corps.”
In the command chief warrant officer role, Black will be principle advisor to the adjutant general on all matters pertaining to warrant officers, including warrant officer accessions, training, education, promotion and career management.
Black is replacing Chief Warrant Officer David Hammon, who is retiring in April after 52 years of service in the state's National Guard. He was in the command chief warrant officer position for the last 10 years.
