SCOTT AIR FORCE BASE, Ill. (USTCNS) --- The Coast Guard Reserve Element of U. S. Transportation Command’s Joint Transportation Reserve Unit has a new commander, Capt. Ronald L. Davis.
In a ceremony here on Nov. 2, attended by his wife, Brenda, Davis relieved Capt. William J. Van Orden as commander of the Coast Guard Reserve personnel assigned to the JTRU, the first Department of Defense-authorized “joint” reserve unit.
Also attending were Rear Adm. Duncan Smith, U. S. Coast Guard Reserve, the Senior Reserve Officer, Coast Guard Atlantic Area, and retired Rear Adm. Thomas J. Hill, U. S. Navy Reserve, a former commander of the JTRU.
USTRANSCOM provides air, land, and sea transportation for the Department of Defense, both in time of peace and time of war. The JTRU provides USTRANSCOM with the highly skilled personnel it needs from the reserve components of all the services.
Davis, currently lives in Franklin, Tenn., and began his military career as an Air Force AC-47 gunship crewman during the Vietnam conflict.
In addition to his eight years of active duty in the Air Force, Davis’ military career includes command of Coast Guard Reserve units in Tenn. and Ky., as well as service as USTRANSCOM Liaison Officer to US European Command.
As a Coast Guard reservist, Davis was recalled to active duty five times. The first time was for Operation Desert Storm as a member of PSU 301, posted to Saudi Arabia. He was then mobilized in 1993 and again in 1995 as a result of the floods in the Midwest. He was activated to serve as a USTRANSCOM Liaison Officer to U. S. European Command in support of Operation Allied Force in Kosovo.
Most recently Davis was called to active duty in Bahrain with a detachment from PSU 308 for Operation Southern Watch. His most recent reserve assignment was as commander of PSU 308.
Davis holds a doctorate of Jurisprudence from Nashville School of Law, and in his civilian career, he is the elected District Attorney General for the Twenty First Judicial District of Tennessee, near Nashville.
