Lt. Gen. David Perkins, commander of the Combined Arms Center and Fort Leavenworth, said he recently was given the chance to hand-pick two of Fort Leavenworth's top leaders.
Perkins said he received a list of possible hires from the Chief of Staff of the Army Gen. Ray Odierno and was able to pick two stand-outs — Kirby Brown as the deputy to the commanding general of CAC and Col. Michael D. Lundy as deputy commander of Combined Arms Center - Training. Both celebrated their new positions at an assumption of responsibility ceremony July 27 at the Frontier Conference Center.
"I am absolutely positive that we have, first of all, the very best folks in the Army that we can get, along with the very best families," Perkins said.
Brown's position is the top Senior Executive Service position on post, overseeing CAC's major subordinate organizations and the 17 schools, centers and training programs Armywide that are under CAC's command. Brown served 21 years active duty. He was selected for SES in 2007, and his first assignment was deputy to the commanding general of the Fires Center of Excellence and Fort Sill, Okla.
Brown said he was happy with his assignment at Fort Leavenworth, which puts him near family.
He also likens the job of CAC's deputy leader as a command position in the Army. He said while he would have been honored to take up an SES position working on policy in the Pentagon, his real goal was to come home and also work in the operational Army.
"If you've been a Soldier, the ultimate goal is to be reassigned to where I've come from, and that was an assignment to a Center of Excellence within TRADOC," he said.
Brown has a master of logistics from Florida Institute of Technology, a master of education from Pittsburg State University and a bachelor's degree in manufacuring technology from what is now called Pittsburg State University.
Lundy said he's also pleased with his new assignment. CAC-T is the organization in charge of training for the Army, with subordinate organizations that include the Army's combat training centers, the Army Training Support Center at Joint Base Langley-Eustis, Va., and the National Simulation Center at Fort Leavenworth.
"CAC-T is pretty unique, a very broad mission with a lot of reach," Lundy said.
According to his biography, Lundy has served in the Army since 1987, when he was commissioned as an aviation officer after graduation from McNeese State University in Lake Charles, La. His military education includes the Aviation Officers Basic Coourse, Basic Rotary Wing Training and OH-58 Transition, the Armor Officer Advanced Course and the Cavalry Leaders Course. Lundy attended the Command and General Staff College at Fort Leavenworth in 1998 and the U.S. Army War College in 2006, where he earned a master of science degree in strategic studies.
He has served in a number of command and staff positions in has career, deploying to Southwest Asia for Operations Desert Shield/Desert Storm, to Bosnia, to Iraq and to Afghanistan. Lundy has also served as an attack and cavalry troop and battalion/squadron S-3 observer-controller at the National Training Center at Fort Irwin, Calif., and as the operations group senior aviation observer-controller at the Joint Readiness Training Center at Fort Polk, La.
Lundy's decorations and badges include the Legion of Merit, Bronze Star Medal with two oak leaf clusters, Defense Meritorious Service Medal, Meritorious Service Medal with four oak leaf clusters, Air Medal with "V" Device and oak leaf cluster, Air Medal with oak leaf cluster, Joint Service Commendation Medal, Army
Commendation Medal with oak leaf cluster, Army Achievement Medal with
four oak leaf clusters, Combat Action Badge, Parachutist Badge, Master Army
Aviator Badge and Ranger Tab.
Before coming to Fort Leavenworth, Lundy, who is promotable to brigadier general, was the deputy commanding general (support) for the 1st Armored Division at Fort Bliss, Texas.
Lundy said managing the Army's training programs would present new opportunities.
"This is certainly a broadening experience for me, and I'm sure it will be very rewarding," he said.
Both newcomers said they were grateful for the community support and assistance from staff at their new positions.