FORT RUCKER, Ala. (July 12, 2012) -- Maj. Gen. Kevin W. Mangum will be the next commanding general of the U.S. Army Aviation Center of Excellence and Fort Rucker, the Army announced July 9.
Mangum will assume command from Maj. Gen. Anthony G. Crutchfield during a change of command ceremony Aug. 10 at 9 a.m. on Howze Field.
Mangum most recently served as commanding general of the U.S. Army Special Operations Aviation Command at Fort Bragg, N.C.
Crutchfield will move on from USAACE and Fort Rucker to become the chief of staff of U.S. Pacific Command at Camp H. M. Smith, Hawaii.
Mangum assumed command of the U.S. Army Special Operations Aviation Command upon its provisional activation March 25, 2011. Prior to his arrival at Fort Bragg, he served as deputy commanding general of 1st Armor Division and United States Division-Center, Operation Iraqi Freedom, Iraq.
Mangum was born in Newport News, Va., and graduated from the United States Military Academy at West Point, N.Y., in May 1982, where he was commissioned as a second lieutenant of Armor.
Highlights of his career include tours with 8th Army, the 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault), 2nd Infantry Division and 10th Mountain Division and two joint tours. He has commanded at every level from platoon to senior commander of Fort Drum, N.Y.
After his initial tour in the 128th Aviation Company (Assault Helicopter) at Camp Page, Korea, he was selected for assignment with Task Force 160. He has since served four tours with the 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment with duties ranging from section leader, battalion S-3 to command at company, and regiment levels. Mangum also commanded A Company, 4th Battalion, 101st Aviation Regiment and 2nd Aviation Battalion, 2nd Aviation Regiment at Camp Stanley, Korea.
Mangum's joint service includes tours at the Joint Electronic Warfare Center, Kelly Air Force Base, Texas, and Joint Special Operations Command at Fort Bragg. In May 2008, he was assigned to his first post as a general officer, serving as the senior commander of Fort Drum and division rear commander of the 10th Mountain Division.
His numerous deployments include duty in the Republic of Korea, Honduras, Persian Gulf, Turkey, Bosnia, Afghanistan and Iraq.
Mangum also served as a U.S. Army War College Fellow at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, Tufts University. He holds a master's of Business Administration from Webster University.
His military awards and decorations include the Defense Superior Service Medal, Legion of Merit, Distinguished Flying Cross, Combat Action Badge, Parachutist Badge, Air Assault Badge and the Master Army Aviator Badge.
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