In Rare Ceremony, First Army Senior Leaders Receive second Stars

By Tony Lopez, First Army Public Affairs

ROCK ISLAND ARSENAL, ILL. - First Army Commander, Lt. Gen. Mick Bednarek, promoted Brig. Gen. Kendall W. Penn and Brig. Gen. Michael R. Smith to the rank of major general in a rare joint promotion ceremony at First Army's Headquarters.

As the First Army Deputy Commanding Generals, Penn's and Smith's duties include assisting the First Army commander and leadership with training, readiness and mobilization of all Army Reserve and National Guard Soldiers from across the United States. Between the general officers, they have more than 64 years of combined military experience.

First Army Commander, Lt. Gen. Mick Bednarek and Bernadine Smith promote Maj. Gen. Michael Smith at First Army Headquarters. Photo by: Tony Lopez, First Army Public Affairs

"First Army is truly a multi-component command," Bednarek said. "Promoting our Reserve Component senior leaders is a testament to not only their key leadership qualities and potential, but also validates the critical support that the reserve forces provide to our Army.

Kendall and Mike are the quintessential 'citizen-soldier-leaders' that are prevalent in the modern Reserve Component." Penn reflected on what the day meant to him.

"This is a huge honor, not just in terms of the promotion, but in terms of the people I get to work with every day. I am fortunate to work with some of the best people, such as the teammate I got promoted with today," he said. "I joined the Guard 30 years ago to pay for college. I figured I would get out when that was over. I woke up 30 years later and here I am. Time goes by quick."

Rebecca Penn (left) and Julie Penn (right) promote their father - Maj. Gen. Kendall Penn at First Army Headquarters. Photo by: Tony Lopez, First Army Public Affairs

Smith also said the dual promotion meant a lot to him. "This is such a special day. General Penn and I met two months ago, but it feels like we've been serving together for 20 years. We hit it off very quickly. Being able to be promoted with him and our families here, in addition to our First Army family and Division East and Division West by video and Skype, there's nothing better than that," he said.

"Not in a million years, not in my wildest dreams, did I anticipate this when I joined. I wanted to make a difference and knew if I could make a difference in one person's life in a positive way, it would be worth it. I've been able to do that many times over, and have also been influenced by people I would never have met without the Army." "Both of these outstanding leaders epitomize the quiet professional mantra through their demeanor and sensibility," added Bednarek. "Their quiet professionalism instills a sense of purpose, dedication, and an ability to take care of our Soldiers and our families, within the reserve component and within First Army."

First Army Commander, Lt. Gen. Mick Bednarek observes as Maj. Gen. Kendall Penn (left) and Maj. Gen. Michael Smith (right) unfold their two-star flags presented during their promotion ceremony at First Army Headquarters. Photo by: Tony Lopez, First Army Public Affairs)

Penn has more than 30 years of military service which includes his previous assignment as the deputy commanding general for First Army Division East, at Fort Meade, Md. He is a native of Malvern, Arkansas. Smith has more than 34 years of military service, which includes his previous assignment as the Commander of the 333rd Military Police Brigade, located in Farmingdale, NY. He is a native of Hoboken, NJ. The mission of First Army is to advise, assist and train Reserve Component Soldiers during pre-mobilization periods.

First Army conducts mobilization, training support, readiness validation and deployment of alerted forces. First Army also executes demobilization of Reserve Component forces in accordance with Department of the Army and United States Army Forces Command.
The promotion ceremony was simultaneously broadcast to First Army Division East at Ft. Meade, Md., First Army Division West at Ft. Hood, Texas and to family members in Arkansas and NJ.