A Mesa County employee who's held a variety of positions over the last eleven years, has just received another promotion, but this time it's with the Utah Army National Guard.

Tom Fisher's been an officer with the U.S. Army for 23 years.

On January 27, he was given Full Colonel Designation at a ceremony held at Camp William, Utah.

Colonel Fisher said he leads the 204th Maneuver Enhancement Brigade to ensure combat units can move freely on the battlefield.

His brigade consists of 1,000 dedicated engineers, military police and chemical soldiers.

Col. Fisher said he's been through two deployments.

Aside from his recent promotion in the Utah Army National Guard, Fisher has accepted a new position with Mesa County as the interim administrator.

It's a position that Commissioner Steve Acquafresca called, "The senior-most administrative position in county government."

Acquafresca said Fisher's a veteran administrator who know the organization inside and out.

Fisher graduated from Michigan State University with a bachelor's degree in Public Planning and a Master of Science degree in Environmental Science.

Between his educational background, work experience and dedication to the U.S. Army national Guard, Mesa County commissioners agree he's a perfect fit for his new position.

"There's an absolute relationship to his skill set that the army has identified [that he] intends to implement to Mesa County's leadership needs as well," said Acquafresca.

KJCT spoke with Colonel Fisher Wednesday at his office to hear how he plans to implement his army experience into his new job.

"Over the years I've had different levels of management training to deal with the different levels of management that I've dealt with in the military, and it coincides directly to managing large organizations in local government," said Fisher.

Since 2002, Tom Fisher's held a number of positions with Mesa County.

He's served as the director of the Regional Transportation Planning Office, he's been with the Regional Services Department, and most recently served as the Internal Services Director; overseeing the Human Resources, Information Technology, Purchasing and Fleet Services departments.

"No matter who the commissioners have been over the years, [they] have been extremely supportive of my military service and have always allowed me to do my training and have encouraged that, because they see the mutual benefit as well," Fisher said.

Colonel Fisher is also serving on one of the President's Advisory Committees for Colorado Mesa University.

Commissioner Acquafresca said he's already received great feedback on Fisher's performance from department heads within the county.