Vern Evans
This article was published as part of a content-sharing agreement between Army Times and The Fayetteville Observer.
FORT LIBERTY — The 18th Airborne Corps and Fort Liberty thanked its outgoing senior leader who spent nearly two decades on the installation, while welcoming its new commander Friday.
During a command change, then-Lt. Gen. Christopher Donahue handed over responsibilities to Lt. Gen. Gregory Anderson following the Senate’s confirmation on Dec. 2 for Donahue to receive his fourth star and lead U.S. Army Europe and Africa and NATO Allied Land Command in Germany.
Anderson, who is the 18th Airborne Corps 40th commander, most recently was a special assistant to the commanding general of the U.S. Army Forces Command.
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He served as commander of the Fort Drum, New York-based 10th Mountain Division, a subordinate unit of the 18th Airborne Corps, from September 2022 until May this year.
The 18th Airborne Corps oversees four divisions and is the Army’s strategic response force that “rapidly deploys ready Army forces anywhere in the world by air, land or sea, entering forcibly if necessary, to shape, deter, fight and win,” its website states.
Command change
Overseeing Friday’s ceremony was Gen. Andrew Poppas, FORSCOM commander.
Poppas said that Donahue took command of the 18th Airborne Corps more than two years ago in Europe just 17 days after Russia crossed Ukraine’s border.
“Their presence alone galvanized NATO against Russian aggression, and they built the relationships and those processes that are in theater and still exist today,” Poppas said. “For the past thousand days, this organization’s soldiers have played a continuous role throughout the entire European theater.”
Anderson was part of that role when he commanded the 10th Mountain Division as it deployed to Romania throughout most of 2023, Poppas said.
Poppas said the 18th Airborne Corps has had other missions under Donahue, which included focusing on the Middle East, responding to crises in Africa and participating in an Indo-Pacific Command exercise to reassure allies of the 18th Airborne Corps’ commitment and capability to deploy from Fort Liberty within 18 hours to anywhere in the world.
Outgoing commander
Poppas said Donahue has inspired 18th Airborne soldiers “to win” and has led several initiatives, which include Scarlet Dragon exercises that focus on speed, scale and data use in warfare and innovation.
“For nearly two decades, the Donahues have been a part of what makes Fort Liberty and Fayetteville so viable to the Army’s projection, America’s defense and global security. You have been at the forefront at every step,” Poppas said.
Before leading the 18th Airborne Corps, Donahue was commander of the 82nd Airborne Division, also at Fort Liberty, from July 2020 to March 2022, and was known as the last American soldier to leave Afghanistan during the withdrawal of troops there in August 2021.
Donahue told Friday’s crowd that for the rest of his life, he will hear people ask about what it meant to lead the 18th Airborne Corps.
“The 18th Airborne Corps is a unit of many, many in the military, but it’s a critical piece, but most importantly, its people are willing to go anywhere in the world and do anything that’s required for our nation and our allies,” he said.
Donahue said that during his time as commander, 18th Airborne soldiers deployed to Europe to support Ukraine to ensure it could survive.
Shortly after, they deployed to Sudan to help get out 12,000 fellow citizens and allies.
“And nobody ever knew about it, which speaks to their professionalism,” Donahue said.
After that, he said, the corps’ 7th Transportation Brigade was sent to Gaza in March to provide humanitarian aid, and soldiers most recently provided humanitarian aid to residents impacted by Hurricane Helene in Western, North Carolina.
Donahue heralded the soldiers for their work.
“Our people outthink, outwork, out hustle, outdo anything they can do to make sure that they can accomplish any mission and take care of their people,” he said.
He said his bosses, current and former command sergeants major, partners in the U.S. Army Special Operations Command and Joint Special Operations Command, formations and brigades in the Corps were all supportive along with the local military retiree community, community leaders, local colleges and members of Congress.
Donahue said he will always consider the Fort Liberty and Fayetteville area, where his children were born, home.
“(It’s), obviously, very difficult to say goodbye for the Donahue family,” he said. “The only thing I can tell you is all of you have our undying love and respect. I will miss you all dearly, but we’ll be back when we retire.”
New commander
Donahue said he can’t wait to see Anderson lead alongside Command Sgt. Maj. Bryan Barker and will be their “greatest advocate and supporter.”
Poppas said Army leaders are counting on Anderson to further drive the 18th Airborne Corps’ warfighting readiness and lead its 82,000 soldiers and paratroopers.
Anderson is a career paratrooper, Ranger and “proven combat leader,” the four-star general said.
Anderson thanked Donahue for commanding the corps with distinction and said he was proud to serve under Donahue’s leadership.
He told his 18th Airborne Corps and Fort Liberty teammates that nothing has changed while the nation relies on the command to deploy globally without advance warning.
“We will continue to meet that expectation. We will not be distracted from our lasting focus on readiness, warfighting excellence, transformation and our people,” he said. “The cold realities in today’s global security environment are going to test us, and we will prepare each day until the nation calls us, and then we will answer that call and will prevail.”
Staff writer Rachael Riley can be reached at [email protected] or 910-486-3528.
This story originally published in The Fayetteville Observer under the headline “Fort Liberty: Donahue gets fourth star, heads to Europe; Anderson now leads 18th Airborne.” Military Times has edited the piece for style.
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