FORT RILEY, Kansas –
Irwin Army Community Hospital held a change of command ceremony June 25 where COL Laudino M. Castillo Rojas relinquished command to COL Jason K. Marquart.
Medical Readiness Command, West, Commanding General BG Yolonda “YR” Summons presided over the ceremony before an audience of Soldiers, family members, the Fort Riley community, and local healthcare partners.
BG Summons praised COL Castillo’s leadership during a challenging period. She highlighted his achievements in building a partnership with the University of Kansas Health System, reducing specialty care wait times, and bridging the gap between tactical readiness and the strategic health enterprise.
“You didn’t just meet the standard. You became the standard,” said BG Summons. “That is authentic leadership. Heartfelt leadership. You leave this place far better than you found it.”
She then welcomed COL Marquart, recognizing his resilience, his beginnings as an enlisted combat medic at age 17, and his strategic vision.
“With your strategic experience and combat-tested leadership, you’re exactly the right leader at the right time,” BG Summons said. “I know that you are going to challenge this organization to do just what your grandfather charged you to do: to make them better.”
COL Castillo, the outgoing commander, began his farewell remarks by thanking his wife, his family, and the hospital staff for their unwavering support. He reflected on the hospital's successes over the past two years, including achieving the highest medical and dental readiness rates in six years to directly support the 1st Infantry Division's warfighting mission.
He emphasized the importance of the community and network partners in making Fort Riley a special place to serve, and he praised the IACH staff for putting the hospital on the map across the Defense Health Agency enterprise.
“It was an honor and the most humbling experience in my entire Army career to serve as the commander of the elite team of Irwin Army Community Hospital,” COL Castillo said. “I am a Big Red One Soldier who has successfully supported the 1st Infantry Division ... you are the secret sauce, and you make a difference.”
Taking the podium, COL Marquart, the incoming commander and a native of Wichita, Kansas, expressed his honor and excitement to return to his home state and lead IACH. He thanked COL Castillo for a smooth transition and outlined his straightforward priorities: the medical readiness of the Big Red One and taking care of the hospital’s people.
COL Marquart emphasized that the hospital must be ready to support the division’s rapid deployments. “When the time is to go, and we have to put people on the plane to go tonight, they need to be able to get on the plane,” COL Marquart said. “We will train our staff here to be confident that if they get on the plane, when they get off the plane, they're able to execute. Not learn on the fly.”
Prior to his arrival at Fort Riley, COL Marquart served at U.S. Army Forces Command where he helped lead strategic organizational transformations. He brings decades of operational and strategic experience to his new role as the IACH commander.
COL Castillo moves on to serve as the Deputy Commanding Officer for Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio, Texas.
IACH is a 47-bed hospital on Fort Riley that opened in October 2016 with the mission of supporting medical readiness for the 1st Infantry Division. It also provides care to Army families and military retirees. The hospital oversees four outlying clinics, Farrelly, Custer Hill, Novosel Aviation, and Caldwell Public Health Clinics; and three dental clinics, Oral Surgery, Whitside, and Custer Hill Dental Clinics.