88th Readiness Division welcomes new commanding general during change-of-command ceremony at Fort McCoy

The 88th Readiness Division welcomed a new commanding general during a change-of-command ceremony July 11 at the Fort McCoy Commemorative Area. During the ceremony, Maj. Gen. Joseph A. Ricciardi relinquished command of the 88th Readiness Division to Maj. Gen. Kevin F. Meisler.

As part of the transition, Meisler also assumed responsibilities as the senior commander of U.S. Army Garrison Fort McCoy.

The ceremony marked the formal transfer of leadership for one of the U.S. Army Reserve’s largest readiness organizations, which provides base operations support and readiness services across a 19-state region stretching from the Ohio River Valley to the Pacific Coast.

A native of Middletown, N.J., Meisler graduated from LaSalle University in Philadelphia with a bachelor’s degree in history and political science before commissioning as an Armor officer in the U.S. Army in 1994.

He transitioned to the U.S. Army Reserve in 1999 and has since served in a variety of leadership positions throughout the Army Reserve. According to his biography, prior to assuming command of the 88th Readiness Division, Meisler served as chief of staff and assistant deputy commanding general for Reserve Affairs with U.S. Army Materiel Command.

His previous command assignments include commanding general of the 311th Signal Command (Theater) at Fort Shafter, Hawaii; commanding general of the 4th Expeditionary Sustainment Command at Joint Base San Antonio-Fort Sam Houston, Texas; commander of the 211th Regional Support Group in Corpus Christi, Texas; commander of the 257th Transportation Battalion in Gainesville, Fla., and Bagram, Afghanistan; commander of the 2nd Battalion, 485th Regiment in Orlando, Fla.; commander of Company A, 2nd Battalion, 485th Regiment in Jacksonville, Fla.; and commander of Headquarters and Headquarters Detachment, 5th Brigade (Health Services), 108th Division (Institutional Training), also in Jacksonville.

Throughout his career, Meisler has deployed in support of operations in Afghanistan, Turkey, and Kuwait. He also mobilized to Fort Sam Houston to support COVID-19 logistics operations and to Fort Jackson, S.C., in support of Army training base expansion.

Meisler holds a Master of Arts in Management from Webster University and a Master of Strategic Studies from the U.S. Army War College. He is an Army logistician with Joint Planner and Operational Contract Support skill identifiers and is a certified Project Management Professional.

His military awards and decorations include the Distinguished Service Medal, Legion of Merit with one oak leaf cluster, Bronze Star Medal, Defense Meritorious Service Medal with one oak leaf cluster, Meritorious Service Medal with eight oak leaf clusters, Army Commendation Medal with five oak leaf clusters, Army Achievement Medal, Joint Meritorious Unit Award, Meritorious Unit Commendation with two awards, Army Superior Unit Award, Parachutist Badge, and Air Assault Badge. He also is a member of the Transportation Corps Regimental Association and has received the Ancient Order of Saint Christopher and the General Brehon B. Somervell Medal of Excellence for contributions to military logistics.

According to the U.S. Army Reserve, the 88th Readiness Division is headquartered at Fort Snelling, Minn., and Fort McCoy.

The two-star command provides services and base operations support to more than 46,500 Army Reserve Soldiers, 2,594 Active Guard and Reserve Soldiers, and 2,524 civilians serving in 525 units at 277 sites with 579 facilities totaling more than 10.3 million square feet across 18,113 acres in 19 states.

The division also manages 14 Local Training Areas in 11 states, providing Soldiers with opportunities to train close to home while supporting convoy operations, organizational maintenance, engineer training, and field exercises. Additionally, the division oversees the 88th Fort McCoy Draw Yard, which provides common military equipment for training units to reduce transportation costs and improve reception, staging, onward movement, and integration during exercises.

Supporting the division’s mission is a full-time workforce of Active Guard and Reserve Soldiers, military technicians, Department of the Army civilians, Troop Program Unit Soldiers, and contractors located throughout the northwestern region. The command also coordinates Army music support across its 19-state area through four U.S. Army bands operating from seven locations.

The 88th Readiness Division traces its lineage to August 1917, when the 88th Division was established at Camp Dodge, Iowa, following passage of the Selective Service Act of 1917.

National Army draftees from North Dakota, South Dakota, Minnesota, Nebraska, Iowa, and Illinois formed the original division, beginning more than a century of service to the nation.

Learn more about the 88th by visiting https://www.usar.army.mil/88thRD.

(Article prepared by the Fort McCoy Public Affairs Office and the 88th Readiness Division Public Affairs Office.)