Maj. Gen. Tom Mullikin retired from command of the South Carolina State Guard (SCSG) during a formal change-of-command ceremony on Dec. 1, at the South Carolina State House in Columbia.

Mullikin relinquished command to Brig. General Leon Lott, sheriff of Richland County, who previously held the post of deputy commander of the SCSG.

South Carolina Governor Henry McMaster presided over the proceedings.

Recently appointed by McMaster to chair the state’s new Flood Commission, Mullikin has served in varying leadership and command capacities in both the SCSG and the S.C. Military Department’s Joint Services Detachment (SCMD-JSD) as well as the Judge Advocate General (JAG) Corps, U.S. Army Reserve.

He is a Camden, S.C.-based attorney, university professor and global expedition leader specializing in energy and environmental issues, representing several international organizations and multi-national corporations around the world.

Lott, a recent inductee into the Fort Jackson Hall of Fame and president of the Association of the United States Army’s Palmetto State Chapter, has served in various leadership and command capacities in both SCMD-JSD and SCSG.

In SCSG, he has held the posts of commander of the provost marshal’s detachment, deputy commander for special operations and deputy commander of the SCSG.

He is a 43-year career law enforcement officer who has served as sheriff of Richland County for more than 20 years.

Established as the First Provincial Militia in 1670, the all-volunteer SCSG is a state defense force organization within the S.C. Military Department that also includes the S.C. Army National Guard, the S.C. Air National Guard, the state’s Emergency Management Division, among other elements.

The SCSG has just under 1,000 guardsmen, including retired and former U.S. Army Special Forces operators, Army Rangers, U.S. Marine infantrymen, engineers, medical professionals attorneys and law enforcement officers among others.

(Editor’s note: This article was published with permission from OpsLens.)