U.S. ARMY
Major General Kevin Vereen Promoted to Lieutenant General and Becomes U.S. Army Deputy Chief of Staff, G-9 M ajor General Kevin Vereen promoted to the rank of Lieutenant General in cer- emony hosted by General By Dr. Samuel Odom
come together in a very short period of time; Monica and I thank you. I thought long and hard about what I would say today…the first thing that came to mind is that I would not talk long, even before I crafted words to say. Note to self: The Second thing I said, please inform the audience that if you see water around my eyes. It’s only sweat, and no pictures, please if you start to see me start to sweat around my eyes!!! All kidding aside this is a very humbling and emotional day for me and my Family…we’ve lost loved ones; we’ve endured family sick- ness and challenges…yet God has kept us, and for that I am grateful. There are many who are not here today; some are looking down from heaven and some just physically could not travel here to witness this ceremony, and I will address them near the end of my comments. I would have never thought I would be here today standing before any of you; for promotion to Lieutenant General. I’m just a young man, who grew up in a small town in North Carolina, (the 6 th largest city in NC - it couldn’t even break the top 3); famous primarily be- cause of its proximity to an Army Instal- lation known worldwide; because of the various units who have been a signature of our Army since WWI. And you all know it as Fort Bragg, NC. I was born and raised in an Army family and today I say thank you to my father (who passed away in 2003) for making the decision to join the Army, even when he had other options (not many I might add) …but boy, were we blessed that he chose this Army—our United States Army—to serve. However, the person who really trained, coached, mentored and also whipped us, was my mom. She was the disciplinarian, be- cause my father, a Special Forces NCO, was busy doing what he loved, and that
James C. McConville, the 40 th Chief of Staff of the United States Army on Wednesday, September 21, 2022. In his new position as U.S. Army Deputy Chief of Staff, G9, Brother Lieutenant General Vereen, a 1996 Ini- tiate of the Fayetteville-Fort Bragg-Pope AFB Alumni Chapter is the principal Army Staff officer responsible for admin- istering the Army’s installation resource program evaluation, leading the Army's quality of life effort, implementing, integrating, supervising and assessing ex- ecution of policies, resources, plans and programs for the Installation Enterprise to enable ready, prompt and sustained land dominance by Army forces. Brother Lieutenant General Kevin Vereen is married to the former Monica Coachman Vereen, a member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. and they have four children Sherelle, Kendall, Kevin (US Army- Active Duty) and Kirkland (newly commissioned 2LT in the US Army), and he is currently assigned to Headquarters, Department of Army (Pentagon). “First, I give Honor to my Lord and Savior, who is truly the Head of my Life. General McConville, Sir, thank you for coming here to Fort Knox to officiate this promotion. We all know you are extremely busy and we truly appreciate you traveling from DC to do this today. I am also grateful that you have the trust in me as I assume responsibilities back in the Pentagon. To my family I want to thank you for coming; I have a cousin who traveled in from Georgia and others from various parts of the United States. I thank the Protocol Staff who worked extremely hard to make this all
was serving his Country!
My Mom, is not physically here today. She’s back home in Fayetteville recovering in a rehabilitation center, and we hope that will be a short stay. She has never missed a promotion ceremony in person. So, Mom I hope you are able to see this one virtually. I love you! I have two brothers (also Army Vet- erans) who could not travel here. They are back home caring for her, so I thank them both for all they do, while I still get to do what I love, and that’s serve! I have many friends who traveled from all over to get here - some from my High School; some from my hometown; some from the many units I have served in as Comrades in Arms; former bosses and many from my fraternity. I appreci- ate you all for taking time to travel here to Fort Knox to support my Family and me. To the Fort Knox Community and those serving here, thank you for your presence here today! I am honored that you came to support me and my family! I have kids (Sherelle, Kendall, Kevin and Kirkland) and grandkids…. yes grandkids (three of them); none of them are here today; because Monica and I are “boring” in the eyes of them all…… just kidding; the kids are all busy (two
THE JOURNAL ♦ FALL - WINTER 2022
PUBLISHING ACHIEVEMENT IN EVERY FIELD OF HUMAN ENDEAVOR
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