Story and photo by Dawn Arden
FORT LEONARD WOOD, Mo. (March 15, 2018) — The Maneuver Support Center of Excellence and Fort Leonard Wood welcomed Michael McCarthy as the Deputy to the Commanding General in a ceremony March 7 at MSCoE Headquarters.
Before administering the oath of office, Maj. Gen. Kent Savre, MSCoE and Fort Leonard Wood commanding general, said McCarthy brings with him a “wealth of experience, talent and a reputation of getting the job done.”
“We’re going to need his leadership and direction across Fort Leonard Wood to keep us focused forward and help develop the capabilities required to ensure freedom of maneuver and victory on the future battlefield,” Savre said. “It’s an awesome responsibility, but he is the right leader with the right skill set for this position.”
Savre added, “you have my entire trust and confidence, and I’m looking forward to serving with you.”
Coming to Fort Leonard Wood from the Training and Doctrine Command’s Army Capabilities Integration Center in Fort Eustis, Virginia, McCarthy said he is excited to be here.
“This was an opportunity to take a job that would be a challenge, that would let me expand my skill set and focus on something that’s really important to the Army,” McCarthy said. “I have been absolutely astonished by how wonderful it is here. There has clearly been a lot of thought and work put into the installation, bringing it up to meet the needs of the Army and I’m very excited to be a part of that.”
In speaking on his focus and priorities while here, McCarthy said the work done on Fort Leonard Wood is very important to Soldiers.
“I’m always going to try and frame things in terms of what we’re going to provide the Soldiers. It’s not about what’s good for us here, it’s about what we’re going to do to protect and defend the Soldiers and the nation,” McCarthy said. “My primary focus is going to be on modernizing the maneuver support forces to better enable combat arms to be able to execute their tasks.”
McCarthy lived on Fort Leonard Wood as a child and attended Thayer Elementary School. He spent several years as an enlisted Soldier before being commissioned as a field artillery officer. After retiring from the Army, he went on to work in support of the Department of Defense.
The deputy to the commanding general’s role is to assist the senior commander in all roles while serving as the commander’s civilian advisor. The deputy is authorized to give mission direction and guidance on the senior commander’s behalf and is the strategic continuity for the Maneuver Support Center of Excellence.
