general officer assignments

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Lt. Gen. Charles Flynn slated to command US Army Pacific, and 14 other promotions

Fifteen general officer assignments were announced by the Army chief of staff Monday, including the ascension of Lt. Gen. Charles A. Flynn to command U.S. Army Pacific out of Fort Shafter, Hawaii.

Flynn, who currently serves as deputy chief of staff for Army operations, plans and training at the Pentagon, was key in crafting a new Army force generation model that was introduced this fall.

The new model is designed to regionally align Army units in roughly one year, Flynn previously told Army Times , giving soldiers expertise in the parts of the world to which they would deploy during an actual conflict and allowing them to stockpile the right equipment to win those clashes.

That type of preparation will help Flynn as he takes control of U.S. Army Pacific, a region where the Pentagon’s attention has increasingly shifted to confront a rising China.

Of note, Flynn is the younger brother of former Army Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn , who served as Trump’s first national security adviser before resigning within one month for lying about his contacts with Russian officials. Michael Flynn has remained a controversial public figure due to his support for the QAnon conspiracy and for proposing President Donald Trump impose martial law and deploy the military to re-run the 2020 election .

The familial ties drew scrutiny last week when the Army falsely denied that Charles Flynn was present during a phone call between the Pentagon and D.C. officials as the Jan. 6 Capitol riot unfolded, according to the Washington Post . The Army ultimately confirmed to the Post that Flynn participated in the phone call, during which the Capitol Police pleaded for National Guard troops to assist in securing Capitol grounds.

There’s no indication Flynn shares his brother’s extreme views, and Flynn’s own career trajectory appears uninhibited by the relationship. His nomination for a fourth star was sent to the U.S. Senate in November and confirmed by a voice vote on Dec. 20.

Fourteen other general officers’ assignments were announced along with Flynn’s Monday:

• Lt. Gen. Bryan P. Fenton, senior military assistant to the secretary of defense, Office of the Secretary of Defense, Washington, D.C., to commander, Joint Special Operations Command; and commander, Joint Special Operations Command Forward, U.S. Special Operations Command, Fort Bragg, North Carolina.

• Maj. Gen. Steven W. Gilland, commanding general, 2d Infantry Division (Combined), Eighth Army, Republic of Korea, to deputy commanding general, III Corps, Fort Hood, Texas.

• Maj. Gen. Omar J. Jones, commanding general, Military District of Washington; and commander, Joint Force Headquarters-National Capital Region, Washington, D.C., to deputy commanding general, Installation Management Command, Joint Base San Antonio, Texas.

• Brig. Gen. Edmond M. Brown, deputy director/chief of staff, Futures and Concepts Center, U.S. Army Futures Command, Joint Base Langley-Eustis, Virginia, to commanding general, Combat Capabilities Development Command, U.S. Army Futures Command, Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland.

• Brig. Gen. Thomas R. Drew, military deputy, Talent Management Task Force, Office of the Deputy Chief of Staff, G-1, U.S. Army, Washington, D.C., to director, Talent Management Task Force, Office of the Deputy Chief of Staff, G-1, U.S. Army, Washington, D.C.

• Brig. Gen. Brett T. Funck, deputy commanding general (Operations), 10th Mountain Division (Light); and acting senior commander-Fort Drum, Fort Drum, New York, to deputy commanding general, U.S. Army Cadet Command, Fort Knox, Kentucky.

• Brig. Gen. Clair A. Gill, deputy commanding general (Support), 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault), Fort Campbell, Kentucky, to director, Army Aviation, Office of the Deputy Chief of Staff, G-3/5/7, U.S. Army, Washington, D.C.

• Brig. Gen. Guy M. Jones, deputy commanding general (Maneuver), 2d Infantry Division (Combined), Eighth Army, Republic of Korea, to deputy director/chief of staff, Futures and Concepts Center, U.S. Army Futures Command, Joint Base Langley-Eustis, Virginia.

• Brig. Gen. Michael C. McCurry II, director, Army Aviation, Office of the Deputy Chief of Staff, G-3/5/7, U.S. Army, Washington, D.C., to director, Force Development, G-8, U.S. Army, Washington, D.C.

• Brig. Gen. Mark C. Quander, commandant, U.S. Army Engineer School, U.S. Army Maneuver Support Center of Excellence, Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri, to commandant of cadets, U.S. Military Academy, West Point, New York.

• Brig. Gen. Jeth B. Rey, director, J-6, U.S. Central Command, MacDill Air Force Base, Florida, to director, Network Cross Functional Team, Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland.

• Brig. Gen. William A. Ryan III, senior advisor to the Ministry of Defense, U.S. Forces-Afghanistan, Operation Freedom’s Sentinel, Afghanistan, to chief of staff, U.S. Army Central, Shaw Air Force Base, South Carolina.

• Brig. Gen. Curtis D. Taylor, commander, 5th Security Force Assistance Brigade, Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Washington, to commanding general, National Training Center and Fort Irwin, Fort Irwin, California.

• Brig. Gen. Joel B. Vowell, deputy director, Strategic Planning and Policy, J-5, U.S. Indo-Pacific Command, Camp H. M. Smith, Hawaii, to commanding general, U.S. Army Japan and I Corps (Forward), Japan.

Kyle Rempfer was an editor and reporter who has covered combat operations, criminal cases, foreign military assistance and training accidents. Before entering journalism, Kyle served in U.S. Air Force Special Tactics and deployed in 2014 to Paktika Province, Afghanistan, and Baghdad, Iraq.

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Maine State Police Col. William Ross answers questions from the Independent Commission to Investigate the Facts of the Tragedy in Lewiston during a hearing at Lewiston City Hall, Friday, May 24, 2024 in Lewiston, Maine. (Russ Dillingham /Sun Journal via AP)

Col. Bill Ross, Maine state police chief, far right,prepares to address an independent commission investigating a mass shooting along with Lt. Col. Brian Scott, left, and Lt. Lucas Hare, middle, on Friday, May 24, 2024, in Lewiston, Maine. A bulletin about the deadliest mass shooting in Maine history that was sent to police agencies had been leaked on social media early on, complicating an already difficult search for the shooter, the state’s top law enforcement official said Friday. (AP Photo/David Sharp)

FILE - A body is wheeled out on a stretcher at Schemengees Bar and Grille, Oct. 26, 2023, in Lewiston, Maine. An independent commission investigating the deadliest shooting in Maine history plans to hear more testimony from law enforcement sources on communications and coordination problems. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty, File)

FILE - Law enforcement officers stand near armored and tactical vehicles in Bowdoin, Maine, following a mass shooting, Oct. 26, 2023. An independent commission investigating the deadliest shooting in Maine history plans to hear more testimony from law enforcement sources on communications and coordination problems. (AP Photo/Steven Senne, File)

Dr. Debra Baeder, a member of the Independent Commission to Investigate the Facts of the Tragedy in Lewiston listens to Maine State Police Col. William Ross answer a question during a hearing at Lewiston City Hall, Friday, May 24, 2024 in Lewiston, Maine. (Russ Dillingham /Sun Journal via AP)

Members of the Independent Commission to Investigate the Facts of the Tragedy in Lewiston, back, listen to testimony during a hearing at Lewiston City Hall, Friday, May 24, 2024 in Lewiston, Maine. (Russ Dillingham /Sun Journal via AP)

Daniel E. Wathan, Chair of the Independent Commission to Investigate the Facts of the Tragedy in Lewiston listens to Maine State Police Col. William Ross answer a question during a hearing at Lewiston City Hall, Friday, May 24, 2024 in Lewiston, Maine. (Russ Dillingham /Sun Journal via AP)

Daniel E. Wathan, Chair of the Independent Commission to Investigate the Facts of the Tragedy in Lewiston, center listens to Maine State Police Col. William Ross, foreground left, answer a question during a hearing at Lewiston City Hall, Friday, May 24, 2024 in Lewiston, Maine. (Russ Dillingham /Sun Journal via AP)

Maine State Police Col. William Ross holds up an internal document that was leaked to the media during the manhunt for Robert Card during a hearing at Lewiston City Hall, Friday, May 24, 2024 in Lewiston, Maine. (Russ Dillingham /Sun Journal via AP)

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LEWISTON, Maine (AP) — Maine’s top police leader addressed the chaos caused by officers arriving without assignments after the state’s deadliest mass shooting , saying Friday that he was glad so many officers were eager to help, even though it was difficult to manage at times.

Col. William Ross, the state police chief, said there’s no “overarching policy” on self-dispatching police officers and said that it’s actually a good thing in an active shooter situation such as Lewiston’s, in which police were responding to multiple locations.

“Keep ’em coming. Because that’s what we need,” Ross said. But, he added, it’s important for officers to be disciplined once a command structure is established.

Ross also spoke about how leaks of investigatory details including an early bulletin, which was distributed moments later on social media, and news media reports of a note discovered at the gunman’s home complicated an already difficult search for the shooter.

Law enforcement officials, including Ross, returned for more testimony at the request of an independent commission, which was focusing Friday on problems with police communication and coordination in the fraught hours after Maine’s deadliest mass shooting Oct. 25.

Eighteen people were killed and 13 injured by an Army reservist at a bowling alley and a bar. The shooter, 40-year-old Robert Card, fled in a vehicle that was abandoned in a nearby town.

Chair Daniel Wathen previously noted “disturbing allegations” were contained in a Portland special response team after-action report that criticized officers who were showing up unannounced. That report also included allegations that some officers arrived intoxicated, but the commission said allegations of misconduct should be handled by the agencies themselves.

The commission previously heard testimony from law enforcement officials about that evening, when law enforcement agencies mobilized for a search as additional police officers poured into the region. State police took over coordination of the search for the gunman, who was found dead from suicide two days later.

There were tense moments when law enforcement located the gunman’s vehicle near the Androscoggin River several hours after the shooting.

State police used a cautious approach, angering some officers who wanted to immediately search the nearby woods. Officers without any official assignment began showing up, raising concerns of police firing on one another in the darkness. The arrival of so many officers also contaminated the scene, making it all but impossible to use dogs to track the gunman.

At one point, a tactical vehicle from the Cumberland County Sheriff’s Office nearly crashed into another tactical vehicle from the Portland Police Department near that scene.

Ross said the fact that so many officers responded to put themselves in harm’s way was a “proud moment,” but he acknowledged that having so many officers arriving from different agencies caused confusion. The problem of well-meaning officers improvising on the fly diminished once a command post was set up, he added.

“As the hours went by, less and less of that happened,” he said. “And then there’s outliers. There will always be someone who operates outside the norm or the command post. And you deal with those things as they come up.”

Ross said the combination of multiple scenes, the gunman’s disappearance and the manhunt made the tragedy different from other mass shootings around the country.

“This is something that I think is very unique,” Ross said.

As for the leaks, Ross said that they were frustrating but that the agency is not focused on trying to find those who leaked information, calling it a “needle in a haystack.” He also noted that leaks are common in large law enforcement actions involving multiple agencies.

The commission investigating the events leading up to the shooting and its aftermath was appointed by the governor and is composed of seven members, including mental health professionals and former prosecutors and judges. Wathen is a former Maine chief justice.

Prior meetings of the panel, which is expected to issue a final report in summer, have focused on victims, Army personnel and members of Card’s family, in addition to law enforcement officials.

Card’s relatives said during a hearing last week that they struggled to get help for him as his mental health declined and his behavior became more erratic . At another hearing, a fellow reservist detailed his attempts to flag Card’s decline for their superiors.

An interim report issued by the panel in March said law enforcement should have seized Card’s guns and put him in protective custody before he committed the shooting.

Whittle reported from Portland, Maine.

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General Officer Announcements

Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III announced today that the president has made the following nominations:

Air Force Lt. Gen. Tony D. Bauernfeind for appointment to the grade of lieutenant general, with assignment as superintendent, U.S. Air Force Academy, Colorado Springs, Colorado.  Bauernfeind is currently serving as commander, Air Force Special Operations Command, Hurlburt Field, Florida.

Army Lt. Gen. Sean C. Bernabe for appointment to the grade of lieutenant general, with assignment as deputy commanding general, U.S. Army Europe-Africa, Germany.  Bernabe is currently serving as the commanding general, III Corps and Fort Cavazos, Fort Cavazos, Texas.

Air Force Maj. Gen. John J. DeGoes for appointment to the grade of lieutenant general, with assignment as surgeon general of the Air Force, Headquarters U.S. Air Force, Pentagon, Washington, D.C.  DeGoes is currently serving as deputy surgeon general, Office of the Surgeon General of the Air Force, Headquarters U.S. Air Force, Pentagon, Washington, D.C.

Army Maj. Gen. Brian S. Eifler for appointment to the grade of lieutenant general, with assignment as deputy chief of staff, G-1, U.S. Army, Pentagon, Washington, D.C.  Eifler is currently serving as commanding general, 11th Airborne Division/deputy commander, U.S. Alaskan Command, Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska.

Air Force Maj. Gen. Thomas K. Hensley for appointment to the grade of lieutenant general, with assignment as commander, Sixteenth Air Force, Air Combat Command, Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland, Texas.  Hensley is currently serving as deputy commander, Sixteenth Air Force, Air Combat Command, Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland, Texas.

Air Force Maj. Gen. David H. Tabor for appointment to the grade of lieutenant general, with assignment as deputy chief of staff, Plans and Programs, Headquarters U.S. Air Force, Pentagon, Washington, D.C.  Tabor is currently serving as director of Programs, Office of the Deputy Chief of Staff for Plans and Programs, Headquarters U.S. Air Force, Pentagon, Washington, D.C.

Air Force Brig. Gen. Michael E. Conley for appointment to the grade of lieutenant general, with assignment as commander, Air Force Special Operations Command, Hurlburt Field, Florida.  Conley is currently serving as director, Operations, Air Force Special Operations Command, Hurlburt Field, Florida.

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