Redstone has final staff officer class graduation

Sixty-four field grade officers graduated Aug. 20 from the final class of the Command and General Staff School, Redstone campus which is closing after 15 years.

They received diplomas after the 16-week staff officer course. The Redstone Arsenal Satellite Campus, which opened in January 2010, is among the satellite training centers that are closing under defense cuts as decided by the Training and Doctrine Command and the secretary of the Army.

Maj. Sean Fitzpatrick, a force management officer for the 377th Theater Sustainment Command at Belle Chasse, Louisiana, was the distinguished honor graduate, the top overall graduate.

“I really enjoyed my time here with Redstone,” Fitzpatrick, 34, from Hazlet, New Jersey, said. “Lt. Col. John-Paul Smock was an excellent instructor and really, he drove us for success. My staff group, Bravo, was exceptional and I’ve never had a staff group as good as them. Overall, the instructors here were all subject matter experts who knew their field and know how to bring out the best in their students. Overall, I think Redstone has helped me grow as a field grade officer and I will be taking the lessons learned here and be using them throughout the rest of my career.”

Fitzpatrick has been in the Army 13 years. He and his wife of eight years, Angelly, have a daughter, Sofia, 6, and son, Gavin, 4.

Distinguished graduates, representing the top 10% of the class, included Maj. Jon Gagne, Maj. Nathan Aylesworth, Maj. Dan Godlasky, Maj. Katherine Herron, Maj. Cody Pittman and Capt. Jordan Schultz. Superior graduates, the top 30%, included Maj. Ryan Willett, Maj. Dustin Blea, Maj. Nicholas Brocato, Maj. Justin Carter, Maj. Jason Juch, Maj. Marissa Liebman, Maj. Alexander Olsen, Capt. Sabastian Conour, Maj. Florlinda Gomez, Maj. Lance Murray, Maj. Jared Joyce and Capt. Liz Golonski.

“The class was educational and necessary for my development as an officer,” distinguished graduate Godlasky, a nuclear officer at Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland, who has been in the Army 12 years, said.

The graduates heard from retired Col. Chris Kennedy of Sevierville, Tennessee, the commencement speaker. He retired in 2001 from the Pentagon after 30 years.

“You’re a role model for your subordinates. Don’t ever forget that,” Kennedy said.

The Redstone campus held three classes annually for the 16-week staff officer course and graduated 2,700 field grade officers in 15 years. The Command and General Staff School, at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, educates and develops leaders for full spectrum, joint, interagency and multinational operations. The Redstone Arsenal Satellite Campus opened in January 2010; and Joe Judge has served as the campus director the past three years. The other satellite campus, at Belvoir, Virginia, had its final graduation Thursday.

“I believe the satellite has had a huge impact,” Judge, who retired from the Army as a colonel in 2009 and joined the campus from the start as an assistant professor, said. “We’ve had guys that came here as a major, now are general officer. It proves that everybody doesn’t have to go to Leavenworth because these unique functions – like medical, acquisition – can’t afford to be away for 10 months (at the main campus), and now they’re going to have to. It’s either resident or distance learning. That’s the only two choices now.”

When the Army decided to close its satellite training centers, instructors had an option of leaving under the deferred resignation program. Judge and instructors Chris Connolly and Steve Guiliani chose to stay and teach Redstone’s final class. All 64 students graduated.

Marvin Nickels, deputy director of the Command and General Staff School at Fort Leavenworth, attended the graduation and handed out diplomas as he has for the past 15 years.

“I commend all the faculty and staff for adapting to this change,” Nickels said.

The staff officer course graduates of Class 2025-02, the last for Redstone Arsenal, included the following:

• Staff Group Alpha: Class leader Lt. Col. Cynthia Garceau, staff group leader Maj. Erendira Jimenez, Maj. Heather Bennett, Maj. Leslie Bittenbinder, Capt. Jonathan Borrero, Maj. Jake Brightwell, Maj. Alex Coslow, Maj. Jon Gagne, Maj. Mike McAllister, Maj. Stephen Murray, Maj. Jon Neeley, Maj. Joshua Perkins, Maj. Orlando Sanchez, Maj. Jim Sullivan, Chaplain (Maj.) Phil Tah and Maj. Ryan Willett.
• Staff Group Bravo: Staff group leader Maj. Zachary Patterson, Maj. Nathan Aylesworth, Maj. Dustin Blea, Capt. Shaquita Bowdry, Maj. Nicholas Brocato, Maj. Justin Carter, Maj. Hannah Duclos, Maj. Sean Fitzpatrick, Maj. Helen Harizanova, Maj. Dan Herring, Capt. Matthew Herron, Maj. Jason Juch, Maj. Marissa Liebman, Maj. Alexander Olsen, Maj. Peter Schulcz IV and Maj. Graham Wintzer.
• Staff Group Charlie: Staff group leader Maj. Chris Biddie, Capt. Darrel Begonia, Maj. Cody Chellman, Capt. Sabastian Conour, Maj. Martin Garza, Maj. Dan Godlasky, Capt. Liz Golonski, Maj. Florlinda Gomez, Capt. Justin Grant, Maj. Katherine Herron, Maj. Peter Howell, Maj. James Ingram, Maj. Andrew Lang, Maj. Monique Mitchell, Maj. Lance Murray and Maj. Josh Sternberg.
• Staff Group Delta: Staff group leader Maj. Grover Smith, Maj. Marquita Barr-Jones, Maj. Tamaria Belser-Ouedraogo, Capt. Jonathan Beltran, Maj. Eric Bohn, Maj. Jonathan Fenstermacher, Capt. Chris Ferretti, Maj. Jordan Greene, Maj. Micah Gunselman, Capt. Mel Hernandez Benitez, Maj. Jared Joyce, Maj. Robert Main III, Capt. Ted Mansfield, Maj. Catie Munro, Maj. Cody Pittman and Capt. Jordan Schultz.