U.S. Army Maj. Gen. Marcus Evans gives a speech at the division change of command ceremony at Schofield Barracks, Hawaii, Aug. 25, 2023.  (Mariah Aguilar/U.S. Army)

HONOLULU (Tribune News Service) — The new commander of the Army’s 25th Infantry Division at Schofield Barracks has been busy from Day 1 of his new assignment after taking command in August.

Maj. Gen. Marcus Evans, who came to Hawaii to lead the 25th after serving as chief of staff at U.

S. Special Operations Command, took over as soldiers from the division were preparing for while others were on the ground on Maui supporting wildfire relief efforts.

“It’s been an incredible honor to serve in this organization, particularly coming in at this time,“ Evans said.

He has been frequently on and off of planes as he takes on his role as leader of the Army’s “Tropic Lightning“ division as its troops deploy for training and missions across the region.

In September he traveled to Indonesia as his soldiers took part in Exercise Super Garuda Shield with the Indonesian military and troops from five other countries.

The Pentagon considers the Pacific to be its top-priority area of operations amid tensions with China. After two decades of focusing on hunting insurgents and terrorists in Iraq, Afghanistan, Somalia, Syria, Yemen and other countries, the military is now trying to train troops for potential large-scale combat operations against “near peer“ military forces that could fight back with missiles, ships, aircraft and tanks.

Evans said that at the 25th he’s focusing on transforming the force, which he describes “a continuous effort really to deliver war-fighting advantages.

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