Milestone marks U.S. Transportation Command joint reserve unit change of command

SCOTT AIR FORCE BASE, Ill. (July 12, 2021) – U.S. Army Reserve Brig. Gen. Cheryn L. Fasano relieved U.S. Air Force Reserve Maj. Gen. Kenneth R. Council Jr. as commander of U.S. Transportation Command (USTRANSCOM) Joint Transportation Reserve Unit (JTRU) during a change of command ceremony at Scott Air Force Base, Illinois, July 10, 2021.

Fasano becomes the 14th commander of the JTRU and its Army, Navy/Marine Corps, Air Force, and Coast Guard reservists. She has the distinction of being the first female general officer to lead the JTRU, a unique component in the Department of Defense (DoD) as the nation’s first joint reserve unit. She will advise USTRANSCOM commander U.S. Army Gen. Stephen R. Lyons on all matters related to Reserve Component support to USTRANSCOM – one of the nation’s 11 combatant commands – and its component commands.

“General Fasano is no stranger to the military and joint operations. She comes with extensive leadership, logistics and operational experience, having commanded at every echelon,” Lyons said as he presided over the ceremony. “She’s exactly the right leader at the right time.”

Fasano most recently served as the deputy commanding general for the Army’s 377th Theater Sustainment Command. She grew up an Army brat: Her parents are both former Army officers. Chuck Swanson, her father, is a retired lieutenant colonel and a 1967 U. S. Military Academy at West Point graduate; and her mother, Carol Swanson, is a retired colonel and Army nurse. In May 1989, Fasano graduated from Indiana University, commissioned through the Army Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC), Indiana University-Purdue University at Indianapolis. She resides in San Antonio, Texas, with her husband of 26 years and retired U.S. Army Reserve colonel, Dr. John Fasano.

The new JTRU leader thanked her four service element commanders for their warm welcome, her parents for being her first mentors, and her husband for always being at her side.

"To the Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen, Marines and Coast Guardsmen, I also appreciate your warm welcome. I'm looking forward to integrating into the team. Jointly, we will continue to demonstrate our importance and relevancy to the USTRANSCOM mission."

Before delivering the command flag over to Fasano, Lyons awarded Council the Defense Superior Service medal for his achievements guiding the JTRU from 2019-2021. Council is a 1989 graduate of Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University and prior to that, attended Rose City Christian School in Thomasville, Georgia, which educates kindergarten through 12th grade. On the civilian side, he is an international pilot for a major U.S. airline.

“This past year with the COVID global pandemic, it’s been extremely challenging, but this USTRANSCOM global mobility machine didn’t have the luxury of slowing down,” said Lyons.
“JTRU figured out a way, and General Council’s leadership was invaluable.”

In his parting remarks, Council thanked Lyons, leadership, and his family for their support. He will move on to join Air Mobility Command (AMC), a USTRANSCOM component.

"To the men and women of the Joint Transportation Unit, I stand here filled with pride to have been your commander the past two years,” said Council, who preceded to boast of JTRU members’ contributions to the mission during his time in charge.

Those achievements included nearly 70 reservists mobilizing to active duty to support COVID-19 relief efforts, the largest JTRU mobilization since Sept. 11, 2001; reshaping the unit’s drill schedule to an all-service quarterly plan that realigns other drill days for work alongside active duty teammates; standing up and manning the USTRANSCOM / SDDC Headquarters Response Cell (T/SHARC) to combat and manage the coronavirus; and lending critical leadership for repatriation efforts in 2020, hurricane response, virtual drill training, exercise support and more.

"During normal operational times it is very difficult for a reservist to balance their family life, their military life and their civilian careers. I am immensely proud of how the JTRU handled that during the pandemic,” Council remarked.

Handling challenges and stepping up is what Lyons noted the JTRU, reserve and national guard forces regularly do.

“Time after time I've seen reservists emerge to lead projects of great significance," he said.

Selecting Brig. Gen. Fasano to lead the JTRU is significant, a testament to proven ability and results. She ended her speech at the ceremony saying, “Command is a privilege and an honor, and I will do my best to uphold those responsibilities. Together, we deliver.”

Video of the ceremony is available at both: https://www.facebook.com/ustranscom.livestream,

The JTRU augments USTRANSCOM in providing air, land and sea transportation for the DoD, both in times of peace and war.

USTRANSCOM exists as a warfighting combatant command to project and sustain military power at a time and place of the nation’s choosing. Powered by dedicated men and women, USTRANSCOM underwrites the lethality of the Joint Force, advances American interests around the globe, and provide our nation's leaders with strategic flexibility to select from multiple options, while creating multiple dilemmas for our adversaries.

-30-