OPMS XXI changes officer career paths

Army, Jul 1997

Lt. Gen. Ronald V. Hite, USA Ret., has been appointed senior vice president of Cypress International, Inc., headquartered in Alexandria, Va.

Gen. Hite previously served as the military deputy to the assistant secretary of the Army for research, development and acquisition, and he was director of the Army Acquisition Corps.

Aberdeen Sentencing. Another drill sergeant has been sentenced to confinement for sexual misconduct at Aberdeen Proving Ground, Md. SSgt. Vernell Robinson Jr. was sentenced to six months in a military prison, demotion to private (E-1), a dishonorable discharge and forfeiture of all pay and allowances. He was found guilty of 19 counts of sexual misconduct and other offenses. He faced a maximum sentence of 60 years confinement. An automatic appeal was initiated under the Uniform Code of Military Justice.

Maj. Gen. Groves on Reserve Board. Secretary of Defense William S. Cohen has designated Maj. Gen. John R. Groves Jr. as the Army National Guard member of the Reserve Policy Board. The 24 members of the board include the assistant secretaries of the Services responsible for Reserve affairs, and active and reserve component general and flag officers representing the Services, including the Coast Guard. Gen. Groves is the Adjutant General of Kentucky.

Army Communities of Excellence. Fort Benning, Ga., received top honors in the annual Army Communities of Excellence (ACOE) program and was awarded the Army Chief of Staff's award for being the Service's top installation and the Commander in Chief's award from the Department of Defense as the Army's top post in the department-wide award program.

It is the third time in four years that Fort Benning has received these honors. Fort Benning won in 1994 and 1995. Other 1997 ACOE award winners include:

Active Army-Huntington (W.Va.) District, Army Corps of Engineers (COE); Seattle (Wash.) District, COE; Tobyhanna Army Depot, Penn.; U.S. Army Garrison Hawaii (25th Infantry Division [Light] and U.S. Army Hawaii); U.S. Army Soldier Systems Command, Natick, Mass.; and U.S. Army Garrison Panama.

Army National Guard-Louisiana, Maryland and Wyoming. The "Rookie of the Year" was Iowa, and the "Most Improved" winners were Minnesota and North Dakota.

Army Reserve-7th U.S. Army Reserve Command, Schwetzingen, Germany; 143rd Transportation Command, Orlando, Fla.; and the 412th Engineer Command, Vicksburg, Miss. The "Rookies of the Year" were the 98th Training Division (Institutional Training), Rochester, N.Y., and the 416th Engineer Command, Darien, Ill.

AH-64 Pilots Needed. Officials from the Total Army Personnel Command announced that the Army is seeking qualified AH-64 Apache attack helicopter pilots to return to active duty or enter active duty from the reserve components with warrant officer commissions.

Candidates must be qualified Apache pilots in the grades of warrant officer 1, chief warrant officer 2 or 3, second or first lieutenant, or captain, and agree to be appointed as a warrant officer 1 in the Reserve before being called to active duty, vacating any other commission. (Application for final grade determination can be made upon entry to active duty.) If no appointment or commission is currently held, application requires additional action.