By Scott Prater
Mountaineer staff
Col. William L. Thigpen, incoming 4th Infantry Division and Fort Carson deputy commander, addresses Soldiers, Families and community members during his welcome ceremony Aug. 4, 2017, at Founders Plaza.
The 4th Infantry Division and Fort Carson welcomed a new deputy commander, Col. William L. Thigpen, and his Family to the Mountain Post during a ceremony at Founders Plaza Aug. 4, 2017.
Maj. Gen. Ryan F. Gonsalves, commanding general, 4th Inf. Div. and Fort Carson, presided over the ceremony.
“Division deputy commander is one of the most dynamic, demanding and rewarding jobs in our Army, but William is the right officer to lead and help us through the challenges that lie ahead,” Gonsalves said. “He is the right individual with the right breadth of experience to fulfill our mission, both here at Fort Carson and to assist our Mission Command Element in Europe.”
Thigpen comes to the 4th Inf. Div. from Washington, D.C., where he served at the Center for Strategic and International Studies as chief of staff of the Army’s senior fellow. Prior to his fellowship, he commanded the 316th Cavalry Brigade at Fort Benning, Georgia.
“He is an armored cavalry officer across all levels, from platoon to brigade,” Gonsalves said. “From sustainment and personnel functions, fires and maneuver, to staff coordination at all levels, William comes to us extremely well-rounded. He brings a remarkable intellectual firepower with him as well.”
A graduate of the National War College, Thigpen holds two master’s degrees, one in national and strategic studies and another in business from Embry Riddle Aeronautical University.
Moving forward, Thigpen said, as the Army’s only balanced division, the 4th Inf. Div. is extremely busy.
“There is always something going on, and our goal is to achieve sustained readiness,” Thigpen said. “As Gen. (Robert B.) Abrams said, ‘You’ve got to be ready now.’ It’s a complex world and we have got to be able to execute when the nation calls.”
Gonsalves noted that a division deputy commander has been a rare commodity of late at Fort Carson.
“I can’t seem to keep both deputies here at Fort Carson for very long before the Army sends them to the Mission Command Element in Europe or to some other adventure across our Army,” he said. “We just welcomed Col. Dave Hodne back to Fort Carson before sending him off to Poland to assume command of the Mission Command Element and we just finished saying farewell to (former) deputy division commander (Brig. Gen. Christopher T.) Donahue, who departed us for Fort Benning and infantry school.”
But, Thigpen believes he’ll be staying at Fort Carson for the immediate future.
“(As a deputy commander,) everything belongs to you that the commanding general doesn’t take himself,” Thigpen said. “I can imagine working both the maneuver as well as the support side of helping the commanding general move the division toward sustained readiness.”
The 4th Inf. Div.’s newest deputy commander then said that he and his Family are grateful to join the “Iron Horse” team and the Colorado Springs community.
“Today is not just a great day to be back in a division, but, it’s great to be with the team as it celebrates 100 years of service to the nation,” he said.