FORT JACKSON, S.C. -- Mark McAlister, commander of the U.S. Army Soldier Support Institute, was promoted to brigadier general during an Oct. 16 ceremony.
McAlister took command of the Soldier Support Institute in July.
McAlister said he was honored and humbled by the promotion and said the credit belongs to his family, particularly his wife Beverly, and the Soldiers he commands.
"This is not about me," he said.
Prior to his current position, McAlister, an Iraq War veteran, was assigned to the Pentagon as executive officer to the assistant secretary of the Army (Finance Management and Comptroller) and chief of Plans, Programs and Budget Integration.
A graduate of Hampton Institute (now Hampton University) and Indiana University, McAlister was previously assigned as commander of the 18th Soldier Support Group (Airborne), chief of the Defense Integrated Military Human Resource System program and commander of the 8th Finance Battalion.
"I've always been proud to be a Soldier, I've always been proud to wear the uniform," McAlister said during his promotion ceremony at the Fort Jackson Officers' Club. "Soldiering is just simply about doing the right thing, about trying to make this day a little bit better than the day before."
Lt. Gen. Edgar Stanton, the military deputy for budget, worked with McAlister at the Pentagon and traveled to Fort Jackson to participate in McAlister's promotion ceremony.
McAlister performed brilliantly in his previous assignment at the Pentagon, where he was responsible for managing hundreds of millions of dollars for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, Stanton said.
"It just could not have been done better," Stanton said.
Stanton praised McAlister's accomplishments and his leadership ability.
"There is not a finer leader in our ranks than Mark McAlister," Stanton said. "He is eminently qualified to do what we're going to ask him to do over the next several years."
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