Brig. Gen. Kolasheski becomes chief of armor at Fort Benning

Brig. Gen. John Kolasheski is no stranger to Fort Benning.

Friday, during a brief welcome ceremony, he became the 50^th chief of armor at the Maneuver Center of Excellence in the Regimental Room of the Benning Club.

Before a deployment to Iraq in 2007, Kolasheski was commander of 3^rd Squadron, 1st Cavalry Regiment, 3^rd Brigade, 3^rd Infantry Division at Fort Benning. Kolasheski’s family spent two years here, though he was deployed the majority of that time.

His time at Fort Benning was prior to Armor training, moving from Fort Knox to Fort Benning, creating the combined arms training with infantry at Fort Benning.

“Today is less about me and about the history, legacy and responsibilities of both the Armor School and the Maneuver Center of Excellence as they fulfill the charge of producing combined arms maneuver soldiers for our Army and our nation,” he said. “It truly feels like fate that Buffy and I would be fortunate enough to come back to Fort Benning under the Maneuver Center of Excellence umbrella.”

Kolasheski gave a nod to retired Maj. Gen. Walt Wojdakowski, a former Fort Benning commander who attended the ceremony.

“I was here from 2006 to 2008 over at Kelley Hill, where thanks to the hard work of Maj. Gens. Wojdakowski and (Bob) Williams, the whole idea of creating a maneuver center, combining both the armor and infantry schools to multiply the effects of combined arms maneuver, was in its infancy,” Kolasheski said. “Sir, Gen. Wojakowski, thanks for the vision and leadership. In my opinion, your work has yielded our Army a more capable combined arms team from private all the way through captain that can fight and win in a complex world.”

Kolasheski came from Fort Riley, Kan., where he was deputy commanding general for the 1^st Infantry Division. Kolasheski replaces Brig. Gen. Scott McKean, who served about 20 months before being reassigned to chief of the Office of Security Cooperation in Iraq.

Brig. Gen. Eric Wesley, commander of the Manuever Center of Excellence, knows Kolasheski well and offered high praise.

“The Army does this with its very best armor officers,” Wesley said. “You don’t come to be the commandant off the Armor School unless you are the very best. On that measure, it’s no shock that John Kolasheski was hand-picked, in fact diverted, to come to Fort Benning and take on the mantle of the Armor School. He is truly the very best armor brigadier general in the Army.”

Kolasheski has served in a variety of command and staff positions. He was deployed three times in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. He served as deputy chief of staff in Operation Enduring Freedom in Kabul, Afghanistan, in 2014 and as brigade commander with the 4^th Infantry Division in support of International Security Assistance Force in Kandahar City, Afghanistan, in 2011.

He received a bachelor’s degree from Bucknell University, a master’s degree from the University of Central Florida and a master’s in Strategic Studies from the U.S. Army War College.

Kolasheski, his wife, Buffy, and three daughters have spent this week getting settled at Fort Benning.

This story was originally published June 3, 2016 at 5:22 PM with the headline "Brig. Gen. Kolasheski becomes chief of armor at Fort Benning."