The U.S. Army Reserve 335th Signal Command (Theater) held a change of command ceremony Aug. 20, at Signal Theater on Fort Gordon, at which time Maj. Gen. John Phillips relinquished command to Maj. Gen. Tina Boyd.

Maj. Gen. Gregory Mosser, deputy commanding general for U.S. Army Reserve Command, presided over the ceremony.

Based out of East Point, Georgia, the 335th SC (T) has more than 4,000 signal and cyber service members (active and Reserve), along with civilians, assigned to units in 18 states across the nation.

As the largest signal command in the Army, its primary mission is to plan, engineer, install, operate, maintain, secure and defend the Army’s portion of the Department of Defense Information Network (DODIN) in support of U.S. Army, joint, and combined forces commanders. It is the largest of three signal commands in the Army and has the distinction of serving in Iraq and Afghanistan longer than any command in the U.S. Army Reserve.

Looking over the command’s accomplishments during the past two and a half years, Mosser attributed many of them to Phillips being “one of the best generals in the Army Reserve.”

“With the latest state-of-the-art communications and information systems gear, which requires the most experienced and technical experts to operate, the Soldiers of the 335th have an incredibly challenging mission,” Mosser said. “They have to keep their training and expertise up-to-date for all the technology advancements that seem to come on a daily basis. They also have to keep this stuff running and ready to transport anytime, anywhere. For these amazing Soldiers, their equipment and their transportation, along with anything else you could think of, is Maj. Gen. Phillips’ responsibility.”

If the mission wasn’t challenging enough, COVID made it more-so. Less than one month into assuming command of the 335th, the pandemic made its way to the states, significantly impacting operations, Soldier readiness, and everything in-between. But the mission never stopped.

“During that whole time, the operational demand for our forces continually was being asked for, and so even though we had lockdown procedures in many cases, we still were deploying 600 people at a time and had to go through quarantine periods, and then they’d deploy overseas in multiple [locations],” Phillips said.

As the most deployed organization in the Army Reserve, Phillips said his command had elements deployed to every combatant command around the world in 2021.

“The overall goal is to be the best we can be and provide the Army the best capability it deserves, and our Soldiers do that,” Phillips said.

No stranger to the 335th, Boyd’s experience includes serving as the command’s deputy commanding general for cyber, and commanding general for the 335th Signal Command (Theater) (Provisional). Her most recent assignment was director of J-6 at U.S. Central Command.

Mosser said she brings the kind of knowledge and experience to the 335th that will “immeasurably benefit the Army Reserve.”

“It’s a tough assignment, but that’s why we got you,” Mosser said.

Boyd said she considered it an “exceptional privilege” to lead the 335th and was eager to get started.

“I will leave it better than when I found it, as Maj. Gen. Phillips has done,” she said.