1st Inf. Div. welcomes new, honors outgoing deputy commanders

By Amanda Kim StairrettAugust 4, 2015

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1 / 6 Show Caption + Hide Caption – Color bearers from units throughout 1st Inf. Div. present their units' colors during a Victory with Honors ceremony July 30 at Fort Riley's Victory Park. Upon completion of its recent nine-month deployment to Iraq, the headquarters is experiencing a ... (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL
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2 / 6 Show Caption + Hide Caption – Brig. Gen. Eric Wesley, who served as the 1st Inf. Div.'s deputy commanding general for support, speaks during a Victory with Honors ceremony July 30 at Victory Park. Wesley is departing Fort Riley to serve as deputy director of program analysis and ... (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL
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3 / 6 Show Caption + Hide Caption – UK Brigadier Christopher Ghika, the 1st Inf. Div.'s most recent deputy commanding general for readiness, begins his farewell speech during a Victory with Honors ceremony July 30 at Victory Park. Ghika served with the 1st Inf. Div. as part of a senior... (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL
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4 / 6 Show Caption + Hide Caption – Brig. Gen. Eric Wesley, who served as the 1st Inf. Div.'s deputy commanding general for support, speaks during a Victory with Honors ceremony July 30 at Victory Park. Wesley is departing Fort Riley to serve as deputy director of program analysis and ... (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL
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5 / 6 Show Caption + Hide Caption – Soldiers from 1st Bn., 5th FA Regt., 1st ABCT, 1st Inf. Div., salute the official party after presenting them with first rounds fired from the battalion's salute battery during a Victory with Honors ceremony July 30 at Victory Park. The ceremony was ... (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL
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6 / 6 Show Caption + Hide Caption – Brig. Gen. Thomas C. Graves, who served as the 1st Inf. Div.'s deputy commanding general for operations, ends his farewell speech during a Victory with Honors ceremony July 30 at Victory Park. Graves will next serve as deputy commanding general for o... (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL

The 1st Infantry Division is amidst a season of change. Upon completion of its recent nine-month deployment to Iraq, the headquarters is experiencing a "period of great transition and turbulence," its commander said July 30 during a Victory with Honors ceremony at Fort Riley.

"This might prove too great a challenge for many organizations," said Maj. Gen. Paul E. Funk II, commanding general of the 1st Inf. Div. and Fort Riley, "but not for the 'Big Red One.'"

Ahead of his own change of command Aug. 6, Funk led farewells for Brig. Gen. Eric J. Wesley, deputy commanding general for support; Brig. Gen. Thomas C. Graves, deputy commanding general for operations; UK Brigadier Christopher Ghika, deputy commanding general for readiness; and Brig. Gen. Kenneth L. Kamper, chief of staff. He also joined the community in welcoming Brig. Gen. John S. Kolasheski, the incoming deputy commanding general for maneuver, and Col. Peter G. Minalga, the new chief of staff.

"As members of our team move on to bigger and better things," Funk said, "we are fortunate to gain new teammates, ready to move forward and push the division to even greater heights."

Before coming to Fort Riley, Kolasheski served as deputy chief of staff for strategic communications for Headquarters, Resolute Support/Operation Freedom's Sentinel and the International Security Assistance Force/Operation Enduring Freedom in Kabul, Afghanistan.

Kolasheski previously served with the 1st Inf. Div. as executive officer for the 1st Squadron, 4th Cavalry Regiment; brigade operations officer for the 2nd Armored Brigade Combat Team, including duty in Iraq; and later as deputy division operations officer.

"My family and I are very, very excited to be here at fort Riley, serving once again in the 1st Infantry Division," Kolasheski said. "We look forward to meeting each and every one of you."

The armor officer is a graduate of Bucknell University and holds master's degrees in engineering management and simulations/training systems design from the University of Central Florida and in strategic studies from the U.S. Army War College.

Kolasheski went on to say he would continue to push forward initiatives from the outgoing leaders "as we prepare units for missions that they might be called upon to do."

Ghika, Wesley, Graves and Kamper put their hearts and souls into the division, Funk said.

"They have been brave, responsible and on point for the nation," he added. "When duty called, they did not falter."

Ghika is set to return home to serve as Head of Personnel Strategy for the British army. Ghika served with the Big Red One as part of a senior leader exchange program, arriving at Fort Riley in November 2013. He also deployed to Iraq with the division headquarters from October 2014 to June 2015.

Ghika said it was his privilege and pleasure to be part of the officer exchange program and to "be at the heart of America's first, best and best-led division."

"To be part of the division in peace is an opportunity," he said. "To be part of the division in war is an honor -- one given to relatively few of my countrymen in a fight against an enemy that neither my country nor yours will ever allow to succeed."

Ghika went on to give his sincere thanks and admiration to the friends -- "friends for life" -- he and his family made during their time at Fort Riley.

Wesley departed Fort Riley to serve as deputy director of program analysis and evaluation for the Office of the Deputy Chief of Staff, financial management and programming, in Washington, D.C.

He arrived at the 1st Inf. Div. in September 2014, and while the division headquarters was deployed to Iraq, he also took on duties as the acting senior mission commander at Fort Riley.

Graves will next serve as deputy commanding general for operations with Eighth U.S. Army in the Republic of Korea. Graves also arrived at the 1st Inf. Div. in September 2014 and deployed with its headquarters, which formed the core of Combined Joint Forces Land Component Command-Iraq, from October 2014 to June 2015.

Kamper, who received his first star during a promotion ceremony July 30, will next lead U.S. Army Operational Test Command at Fort Hood, Texas. Kamper arrived at Fort Riley in September 2014, deploying for part of the division's time in Iraq.

Minalga commanded the recently inactivated 4th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, 1st Inf. Div., from July 2013 to May 2015.

Funk said the division was better than a single leader -- it was the sum of their efforts and willingness to expend their energies in service to a cause greater than themselves.

"Our motto, 'No mission too difficult, no sacrifice too great,' exemplifies the raw determination and selfless service of the men and women that have come before us, reminding us that no matter the circumstances, we will achieve our goals," Funk said. "I am proud to have the opportunity to say farewell to the fine leaders leaving our formation and to welcome others that I know will build on the tradition of excellence that the Big Red One is known for."

Big Red One Holds Victory With Honors Ceremony

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