Michelle Tan writes Thomas will be instrumental in forging personnel policies that relate to service members and civilians across the Defense Department.
Command Sgt. Maj. Jim Wills will succeed Thomas during a ceremony on Jan. 8, 2016 at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, according to the report.
Thomas has been an adviser to Lt. Gen. Jeffrey Talley, chief of the Army Reserve and commanding general of Army Reserve Command, since April 2013, Army Times reports.
Talley is a veteran of Iraq and Afghanistan who enlisted in the Army in 1984, Tan reports.