JOINT BASE MCGUIRE-DIX-LAKEHURST -- New Jersey's largest military base has a new leader.
Air Force Col. Neil Richardson took command of Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst and 87th Air Base Wing during a ceremony Tuesday. He succeeds Col. Frederick Thaden.
Richardson, a former C-130 Hercules navigator and weapons officer, previously served as vice commander for the 374th Airlift Wing in Yokota, Japan.
"Col. Richardson brings the right experience and leadership needed to continue to put rapid in rapid global mobility and take this joint base to the next level," said Maj. Gen. Christopher Bence, commander of the Air Force Expeditionary Center.
Base officials say a typical tour of command at the joint base is two years.
The joint base is the Department of Defense's first and only tri-service military base. The Air Force, Army and Navy installations merged in October 2009.
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