Command and General Staff College recognizes staff, faculty scholarly writing and more at awards ceremony

By Sarah Hauck, The Army University Public Affairs OfficeApril 2, 2024

THE ARMY UNIVERSITY, FORT LEAVENWORTH, Kansas – Just ahead of the end of the 2024 academic year, the Command and General Staff College recognized staff and faculty for a variety of achievements in a ceremony April 1, 2024.

The ceremony began with nearly 30 staff and faculty of The Army University recognized for scholarly research and writing.

A regular set of awards, the Pen awards recognize staff and faculty’s dedication to life-long learning through individual research and publications of various lengths, from books to letters to the editor.

The awards highlight the individual’s support of the university’s commitment to sharing innovative and challenging thoughts and ideas to drive the Army forward.

The following individuals received Gold, Silver, and Bronze Pen awards, presented by Dr. David Cotter, Dean of Academics, Command and General Staff College.

Receiving Golden Pen Certificates in recognition of books or book-length works were: LTC Jerry V. Drew II, DJIMO, co-author, The Battle Beyond: Fighting and Winning the Coming War in Space, Amplify Publishing, TBP Jan 2024.

Dr. Mahir J. Ibrahimov, CASO, "Soldier of Cultures and Empires": Autobiographical Anthology of Poetry and Short Stories, KD Press, May 2023. (4th Award) (Translation by author from original in Russian.)

Dr. Curtis S. King, AU Press, A Talent for Logistics: McClellan and Grant Sustaining the Army of the Potomac in 1862 and 1864, Combat Studies Institute Press, 2022.

Dr. William S. Nance, DMH, Commanding Professionalism: Simpson, Moore, and the Ninth U.S. Army, University Press of Kentucky, Sept 2023.

Dr. Brian L. Steed, DMH, Voices of the Afghanistan War: Contemporary Accounts of Daily Life, Bloomsbury Academic, June 2023. (6th Award)

Gold Pen Award presentation
1 / 4 Show Caption + Hide Caption – LTC Jerry V. Drew II, DJIMO, was presented a Gold Pen award by Dr. David Cotter, Dean of Academics, Command and General Staff College, for being a co-author on "The Battle Beyond: Fighting and Winning the Coming War in Space." (Photo Credit: Dan Neal, The Army University Public Affairs Office) VIEW ORIGINAL
Gold Pen Award Ceremony
2 / 4 Show Caption + Hide Caption – Dr. Mahir J. Ibrahimov, CASO, was presented his fourth Gold Pen award by Dr. David Cotter, Dean of Academics, Command and General Staff College, for publishing "Soldier of Cultures and Empires: Autobiographical Anthology of Poetry and Short Stories." (Photo Credit: Dan Neal, The Army University Public Affairs Office) VIEW ORIGINAL
Gold Pen Award Ceremony
3 / 4 Show Caption + Hide Caption – Dr. Curtis S. King, AU Press, was presented a Gold Pen award by Dr. David Cotter, Dean of Academics, Command and General Staff College, for publishing "A Talent for Logistics: McClellan and Grant Sustaining the Army of the Potomac in 1862 and 1864." (Photo Credit: Dan Neal, The Army University Public Affairs Office) VIEW ORIGINAL
Gold Pen Award Ceremony
4 / 4 Show Caption + Hide Caption – Dr. William S. Nance, DMH, was presented a Gold Pen award by Dr. David Cotter, Dean of Academics, Command and General Staff College, for publishing "Commanding Professionalism: Simpson, Moore, and the Ninth U.S. Army." (Photo Credit: Dan Neal, The Army University Public Affairs Office) VIEW ORIGINAL
Gold Pen Award Ceremony
Dr. Brian L. Steed, DMH, was presented a Gold Pen award by Dr. David Cotter, Dean of Academics, Command and General Staff College, for publishing "Voices of the Afghanistan War: Contemporary Accounts of Daily Life." (Photo Credit: Dan Neal, The Army University Public Affairs Office) VIEW ORIGINAL

The Silver Pen Certificate, awarded for significant articles or chapters of a book, went to: LTC Craig A. Broyles, SAMS, co-author, article, “Concrete Command: Why Combat Training Centers Should Prioritize Training on Urban Command Posts”, Military Review, July-August 2023.

Dr. Kate S. Dahlstrand, AU Press, article, “Cross-Generational Problem-Solving: A Case Study of Fort Leavenworth”, Military Review Online, September 2023.

Dr. William J. Davis Jr., DJIMO, article, “Creating a Learning Environment for the Development of Interagency Leaders”, InterAgency Journal, June 2023. (11th Award)

LTC Jerry V. Drew II, DJIMO, book chapter, “The Quantum Future of Space Warfare”, in Cyber-Human Systems, Space Technologies, and Threats, New Prairie Press, KSU, August 2023. (2nd Award)

SGM Dale J. Dukes, SGM-A, article, “Earning the Title of First Sergeant”, Military Police, 2023 Annual Issue, 2023.

Dr. Michael J. Forsyth, DJIMO, article, “Why Russia Failed So Far: The Impact of Civil-Military Relations”, InterAgency Journal, June 2023. (3rd Award)

Mr. Mark R. Froom, SGM-A, article, “21st Century Multinational Operations at the Siege of Yorktown, 1781”, Military History Online, July 2023.

Mr. Robbin A. Hafen, DTAC, article, “Chinese Operational Art: The Primacy of the Human Dimension”, Military Review, November-December 2023.

Dr. John D. Holser, DMH, book chapter, “Writing and Warfighting II: John of Salisbury’s Policraticus to the Eighteenth Century”, in Reading Medieval Military Literature, TBP by Brill. (8th Award)

LTC Nathan A. Jennings, PhD, DJIMO, article, “Fighting with Agility: The 162nd Armored Division in the 1973 Arab-Israeli War”, Military Review, May-June 2023. (6th Award)

Dr. John T. Kuehn, DMH, article, “Zumwalt, Holloway, and the Soviet Navy Threat: Leadership in a Time of Strategic, Social, and Cultural Change”, Journal of Advanced Military Studies, Fall 2022. (9th Award)

Mr. Lee O. Lacy, DDE, article, “Traits of Valor: The Brief and Heroic Life of Lt. George A. Whiteman”, Johnson County Missouri Historical Society, September 2023. (8th Award)

Dr. Richard A. McConnell, DTAC, article co-author, “Improving Writing Skills by Diagnosing and Treating at Risk Writers”, The Association for Business Simulations and Experiential Learning (ABSEL), March 2023. (11th Award)

Dr. Allyson D. McNitt, AU Press, article co-author, “Improving Writing Skills by Diagnosing and Treating at Risk Writers”, The Association for Business Simulations and Experiential Learning (ABSEL), March 2023. (2nd Award)

Ms. Charlotte H. Richter, AU Press, article co-author, “Concrete Command: Why Combat Training Centers Should Prioritize Training on Urban Command Posts”, Military Review, July-August 2023.

Dr. Paul R. Sanders, DDE, article co-author, “Toward a Mutually Beneficial Partnership with India to Improve U.S. Strategy in the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command”, Military Review, July-August 2023.

Dr. Henry Santiago-Gonzalez, DSFM, article, “From Idea Generation to Implementation: Transitioning Ideas Through Innovation Process Stages”, International Leadership Journal, June 2023.

COL Todd A. Schmidt, PhD., AU Press, article, “Down the Tubes? How Failed Leadership Succession Harms National Security”, Military Review Online, September 2023. (2nd Award)

Dr. Barry M. Stentiford, SAMS, article, “Selective Service: Before the All-Volunteer Force”, Military Review, November-December 2023. (3rd Award)

Dr. Robert F. Williams, AU Press, article, “Our Problem Children”: Masculinity and its Discontents in American Parachute Units in World War II”, Journal of Military History, July 2023.

Bronze Pens are awarded for short articles, encyclopedia entries, book reviews, opinion pieces, letters to the editor, or a body of work. Bronze Pen recipients were:

Mr. Frederick A. Baillergeon, DTAC, for his body of work published in Military Review. (27th Award)

Dr. Michael A. Bonura, DJIMO, for his body of work published in Napoleonica The Journal, Journal of Military History, and Army History Magazine.

SGM Kathryn J. DeUnger, SGM-A, for her body of work published in Army Communicator and Military Police.

SGM Clayton Dos Santos, SGM-A, co-author for his article published in the Havok Journal. (3rd Award)

Dr. John D. Hosler, DMH, for his body of work published in Religion and World Civilizations: How Faith Shaped Societies from Antiquity to the Present. (7th Award)

Mr. James L. Kennedy, DSFM, for his article published in Army Magazine.

(12th Award)

LTC Johnathan L. Leming, DJIMO, for his body of work published in the Journal of Army History.

Dr. Richard A. McConnell, DTAC, for his article published in the NCO Journal.

(13th Award)

Dr. John H. Modinger, DJIMO, for his body of work published in Military Review.

(14th Award)

Dr. Scott A. Moseman, DJIMO, for his book review published in The International Journal of Intelligence and Counterintelligence.

Dr. Tony R. Mullis, DMH, for his article published in e-Instructor Insights: Applying the Lessons of Pandemic Learning. (4th Award)

Mr. Paul J. Narowski II, DSFM, for his body of work published in Military Review.

LTC Aric J. Raus, DCL, for his article published in Military Officer Magazine.

(3rd Award)

Mr. Robert J. Rielly, DCL, CGSS, for his body of work published in Military Review. (16th award)

Mr. James L. Perdue, SGM-A, co-author for his article published in The Havok Journal.

Mr. Robert S. Shawlinski, SGM-A, co-author for his article published in The Havok Journal.

Dr. Barry M. Stentiford, SAMS, for his body of work published in Military Review and Army History. (7th Award)

Ms. Kathy K. Strand, AMSC, for her body of work published in Military Review.

(2nd Award)

Dr. Thomas E. Ward II, DSFM, for his body of work published in Military Review.

(7th Award)

Dr. Robert F. Williams, AU Press, for his article published in Picturing Black History.

Other awards included recognition of the Staff and Faculty Council.

Cotter described the Staff and Faculty Council as the eyes and ears for the staff and faculty to transparently address and incite change and improvements to the college.

The following individuals were recognized for their service as members of the Staff and Faculty Council.

Dr. Rodney Morris was presented the Diamond award for 12 academic years (six terms in office) of service.

John Schatzel was presented the Platinum award for 10 academic years (fives terms in office) of service.

Ryan Rydalch and Dr. Bill Knight were presented the Gold award for eight academic years (four terms in office) of service.

Erik Price was presented the Silver award for six academic years (three terms in office) of service.

Dr. Dennis Burket was presented the Bronze award for four academic years (two terms in office) of service.

Dr. Joseph Blanding was awarded a Certificate of Recognition for three academic years (one term in office) of service.

Matt Kiefer, Mark Sorenson, Dr. Tirdad Daei, and Nate Stevenson were presented CGSC Certificates of Achievement for their support to the Master of Military Art and Science Degree program within Command and General Staff School.

Morris and Rydalch were later presented with Civilian Service Commendation Medals for their service as the President and Vice President of the Staff and Faculty Council.

Michelle Garcia, Assistant Professor, CGSC, was awarded the Civilian Service Achievement Medal for her support as a volunteer adjunct faculty member for the

initial instructor course for CGSC faculty.

During her time as an adjunct faculty member, she dedicated more than 100 hours of teaching, coaching, and assessment to nearly 100 faculty members.