Morristown man named new command sgt. major at Armory

MORRISTOWN – The Morristown Armory named a new command sergeant major at a Change of Responsibility Ceremony Saturday.

Morristown resident Paul Horan, previously a first sergeant, succeeded outgoing Command Sgt. Maj. Earnest Williams Jr. at the 3rd Battalion, 112th Field Artillery's Change of Responsibility Ceremony.

During the ceremony, Horan was sworn in with the Non-Commissioned Officer Creed.

"I'm ecstatic. I joined the unit as a private at 22, so to be named command sergeant major is quite an honor," Horan said. "I'm looking forward to it. It's a great challenge, and there's a lot of history with the position."

Horan, 54, a decorated Iraq war veteran, was born in Newcastle, England, and raised in Morristown.

He joined the New Jersey Army National Guard in 1983 as a tactical radio repairman and completed basic combat training at Fort Dix and advanced individual training at Fort Sill, Oklahoma.

Horan served tours in Iraq in 2004 and 2008-09, coordinating about 3,000 missions.

Horan is coming back from a tour in Afghanistan, where he was deployed in 2013 and 2014 with his Port Murray engineering battalion.

The promotion makes Horan the highest-ranking noncommissioned officer in the battalion. He will train and mentor lower-ranking NCOs and serve as the right-hand man to the battalion commander.

Horan, who has been awarded the Bronze Star, is married to Kelly Glynn, a teacher at Morristown High School, and has two children, Sean and Caitlin. Sean Horan is a specialist in the New Jersey Army National Guard; Caitlin Horan recently graduated from Widener University, majoring in business management with a concentration in human resources.

Horan's predecessor Williams, a full-time National Guardsman, will be taking over troop command of the New Jersey National Guard in Atlantic City.

A Paterson native, Williams entered the Army in 1985. Upon his discharge from active duty, he enlisted in the New Jersey Army National Guard, where he has held several positions, including ammunition team chief, gunner, section chief, gunnery sergeant, platoon sergeant, operation sergeant, first sergeant and operations sergeant major.

While serving as a platoon sergeant he led his platoon into several combat operations. His most recent assignment was serving as the 50th IBCT operations sergeant major.

Williams served two tours in Iraq, one in Korea and one in Germany.

Williams is pursuing a bachelor's degree in leadership at Bellevue University.

He has been awarded the Bronze Star with an oak leaf cluster. Williams has a wife, Toshia, and five children, Tynishia, Elijah, Quran, Shamir and Kiara. He currently lives in Tobyhanna, Pennsylvania.

Staff Writer Michael Izzo: 973-428-6636; mizzo@gannettnj.com