Zollar takes command of 183rd RTI

Col. James A. Zollar takes command of the Fort Pickett-based 183rd Regiment, Regional Training Institute from Col. Thomas L. Morgan, III, June 26, 2016, in a traditional change of command ceremony at Fort Pickett, Virginia. Brig. Gen. Walter L. Mercer, the Virginia National Guard’s Assistant Adjutant General – Army, presided over the exchange of unit colors that represented the transfer of command from Morgan to Zollar.

Zollar and Morgan both work full time for the Virginia National Guard. Zollar will continue to serve full time as the Virginia Army National Guard training and operations officer, then command 183rd RTI in a traditional Guard status. Morgan serves full time as the Virginia National Guard joint operations officer, and will now serve in that position in a traditional Guard status as well.

Located at Fort Pickett, the 183rd Regiment, Regional Training Institute is comprised of the RTI Headquarters and three battalions. First Battalion conducts infantry training, including the 11B Infantryman Military Occupational Specialty Qualification Course, Light Leaders Course and rappel master, while 2nd Battalion conducts the 88M Motor Transport Operator Course. Third battalion includes both Officer Candidate School and Warrant Officer Candidate School and also trains Soldiers as military police officers.

The RTI includes 74 instructors supported by 32 staff personnel. The schoolhouse was completed in 2011 and includes approximately 400,000 square feet of instruction space, including a combatives training room, eight modular classrooms and a lecture hall capable of accommodating 480 students, along with three barracks with two-person rooms and open bay housing that can accommodate 275 students. At Fort Pickett, instructors and students can reach training sites within five minutes and that includes a variety of ranges, convoy and live fire lanes, an urban assault course, training villages, field training lanes, an air assault tower and an extensive urban training site.