History made as Holland named Mississippi Valley Division’s commander

Published 5:00 pm Wednesday, May 6, 2020

Maj. Gen. Diana M. Holland, former commander of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers South Atlantic Division, has been named commander of the Mississippi Valley Division in Vicksburg.

Holland, who now becomes the Division’s first female commander, replaces Maj. Gen. Richard M. “Mark” Toy, who is leaving to become chief of staff with the United Nations Command in South Korea.

A change of command ceremony is scheduled for June 30. The ceremony will be closed to the public but will be streamed live through the Division’s Facebook page.

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Holland has been commander of the South Atlantic Division since 2017.

She is a native of Santa Barbara, Calif., and graduated from the United States Military Academy. She was commissioned as a second lieutenant in 1990.

She received a Master of Arts degree from Duke University and a Master of Military Arts and Sciences degree from the U.S. Army Command and General Staff College and the School of Advanced Military Studies.

As Division commander, Holland is responsible for Corps water resources programs in the Mississippi River Valley, a 370,000-square-mile area encompassing the Mississippi River and included parts of 12 states.

She also serves as president-designee of the Mississippi River Commission, which was established by Congress in 1879 to develop the Mississippi River into a reliable transportation artery while protecting adjacent lands from flooding.

Toy took command of the Mississippi Valley Division in July. He replaced Maj. Gen. Richard Kaiser, who commanded the Division for three years and left to serve as deputy commanding general and deputy chief of engineers for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in Washington, D.C.

About John Surratt

John Surratt is a graduate of Louisiana State University with a degree in general studies. He has worked as an editor, reporter and photographer for newspapers in Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama. He has been a member of The Vicksburg Post staff since 2011 and covers city government. He and his wife attend St. Paul Catholic Church and he is a member of the Port City Kiwanis Club.

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