Frank promoted to brigadier general

By Amanda Kim StairrettDecember 9, 2015

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1 / 2 Show Caption + Hide Caption – (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL
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2 / 2 Show Caption + Hide Caption – Maj. Gen. Wayne W. Grigsby Jr. (right), 1st Infantry Division and Fort Riley commanding general, administers the oath of office to Brig. Gen. Patrick Frank, 1st Infantry Division deputy commanding general for support, Dec. 4 during Frank's promotion ... (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL

The 1st Infantry Division's deputy commander for support received his first star during a ceremony Dec. 4 at Fort Riley.

Brig. Gen. Patrick D. Frank was joined by his wife Jennifer, "the person most responsible for me being here today"; parents Doug and Betty; and brother Lt. Col. Mark Frank for the promotion ceremony at division headquarters.

Frank has served as the deputy commander for support since Sept. 8, coming back to Fort Riley after serving as executive officer to the commander of the International Security Assistance Force/Resolute Support. Frank previously served with the "Big Red One" as the division's operations officer and commander of the 1st Battalion, 28th Infantry Regiment, 4th Infantry Brigade Combat Team -- the "Black Lions."

"Today is a great day," said Maj. Gen. Wayne W. Grigsby Jr., 1st Inf. Div. and Fort Riley commanding general. "We get to promote Col. (promotable) Pat Frank. … Simply amazing."

Grigsby said less than one percent of lieutenants who enter the Army will become general officers -- "It takes a unique blend of talent, hard work and, I know from personal experience, a lot of luck to reach this amazing achievement."

"But not for this young man," Grigsby said of Frank. "No luck involved."

Frank's other prior assignments include serving as executive officer to the Army vice chief of staff; commander of the 3rd Infantry Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division, the "Spartan" brigade; aide to the secretary of the Army; and various positions within the 10th Mountain Div., 101st Airborne Division and 3rd Infantry Division. He has deployed in support of Operation Desert Storm, Operation Uphold Democracy in Haiti, Operation Iraqi Freedom I and V, Operation Enduring Freedom XII-XIII and XVII and Operation Freedom Sentinel.

"So he has the combat experience," Grigsby said of Frank. "He has what it takes to be a general officer today. He didn't sit on the sidelines. He was the man in the arena.

"He's got it all. Can you see that? But most importantly, you know what he is, right? He is a Big Red One Soldier."

Grigsby said Frank exemplified what it meant to be brave, responsible and on point.

Frank said there were several reasons he stayed in the Army for 26 years: Sept 11 and the emergence of what he called the "next Greatest Generation of American Soldiers" who stepped forward after the catastrophic event. He stayed in because of the sacrifices of Soldiers like Spc. Camy Florexil, a Black Lion who lost his life to an EFP attack in Baghdad, Iraq, and 1st Lt. Tim Steele, a Spartan killed by an IED in Kandahar, Afghanistan.

He stayed in because of the warrior spirit demonstrated by Soldiers like Command Sgt. Maj. Clifford Dockter, the Black Lions' senior noncommissioned officer who was injured during an EFP attack, pushed through recovery and physical therapy at Fort Riley and returned, on Christmas Day, to his troops in Iraq, and retired Col. Greg Gadson, commander of the 4th IBCT's 2nd Battalion, 32nd Field Artillery Regiment, who lost both his legs following an IED attack and continued to serve and inspire -- a "model of resiliency and strong leadership in our Army."

He stayed in because of Army families who endured multiple nine-, 12- and 15-month deployments in 14 years of combat.

"It's amazing the resiliency and endurance of our families," Frank said. "And we can't take that for granted."

He stayed in because of the warrior ethos -- Soldiers who have taken the fight to the enemy and established security to influence future generations of Iraqi and Afghan children, giving them freedom that hadn't experienced in decades.

"That's why I'm in the Army," Frank said, "to serve with heroes like this."

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