{"id":159216,"date":"2024-04-26T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2024-04-26T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/?p=159216"},"modified":"2024-04-27T01:31:00","modified_gmt":"2024-04-27T01:31:00","slug":"former-v-corps-commander-retires-in-fort-knox","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/?p=159216","title":{"rendered":"Former V Corps Commander retires in Fort Knox"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\n 2nd Polish Corps Commander Lt. Gen. Adam Joks presents Lt. Gen. John S. Kolasheski with a statue of Tadeusz Ko\u015bciuszko, who V Corps forward headquarters is named after, in Fort Knox, Kentucky, April 26, 2024. Kolasheski retired from the U.S. Army after nearly 35 years of distinguished service during a ceremony at V Corps headquarters. (U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Javen Owens)
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\n U.S. Army Lt. Gen. John S. Kolasheski gives remarks during his retirement ceremony, Fort Knox, Kentucky, April 26, 2024. Kolasheski retired from the U.S. Army after nearly 35 years of distinguished service during a ceremony at V Corps headquarters. (U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Javen Owens)
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\n 2nd Polish Corps Commander Lt. Gen. Adam Joks gives his remarks during a retirement ceremony for Lt. Gen. John S. Kolasheski, former commanding general of V Corps, at Fort Knox, Kentucky, April 26, 2024. Kolasheski retired from the U.S. Army after nearly 35 years of distinguished service during a ceremony at V Corps headquarters. (U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Javen Owens)
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\n U.S. Army Human Resources Command Honor Guard folds the American flag during the retirement ceremony for Lt. Gen. John S. Kolasheski, former commanding general of V Corps, Fort Knox, Kentucky, April 26, 2024. Kolasheski retired from the U.S. Army after nearly 35 years of distinguished service during a ceremony at V Corps headquarters. (U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Javen Owens)
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\n A V Corps Soldier presents a shell casing to Lt. Gen. John S. Kolasheski, former commanding general of V Corps, as a gift for his retirement, April 26, 2024. Kolasheski retired from the U.S. Army after nearly 35 years of distinguished service during a ceremony at V Corps headquarters, Fort Knox, Kentucky. (U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Javen Owens)
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\n Retired U.S. Army Lt. Gen. Herbert McMaster gives his remarks during a retirement ceremony for Lt. Gen. John S. Kolasheski, former commanding general of V Corps, at Fort Knox, Kentucky, April 26, 2024. Kolasheski retired from the U.S. Army after nearly 35 years of distinguished service during the ceremony at V Corps Headquarters. (U.S. Army image by Sgt. Javen Owens)
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FORT KNOX, Ky. (April 26, 2024) — U.S. Army V Corps hosted a retirement ceremony for former commanding general Lt. Gen. John S. Kolasheski at V Corps headquarters in Fort Knox, Kentucky, Friday.<\/p>\n

Retired U.S. Army Lt. Gen. Herbert R. McMaster hosted the ceremony which honored Kolasheski\u2019s nearly 35 years of distinguished service and included remarks by Polish Army Lt. Gen. Adam Joks.<\/p>\n

\u201cJohn was in division or corps command every day for almost six straight years,\u201d said McMaster. \u201cHe took three days between relinquishing command of the 1st Infantry Division on Aug. 1, 2020, and assuming command of V Corps on August 4. He built V Corps from the ground up in response to the strategic threat to Europe and NATO from an increasingly aggressive Russia.\u201d<\/p>\n

Kolasheski took command of V Corps and officially unfurled the corps\u2019 flag on Aug. 4, 2020, in Krakow, Poland, establishing America\u2019s forward deployed corps and the U.S. Army\u2019s fourth corps. During his time in command, Kolasheski established the \u201cthree-star\u201d headquarters in Fort Knox and Poznan, Poland, achieved the status of \u201cfully operationally capable\u201d or \u201cFOC,\u201d and conducted its first deployment.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Supreme Allied Commander, Europe, Gen. Chris Cavoli sent this to me this morning,\u201d said McMaster. \u201c[he said] \u2018John Kolasheski, the top armor officer in the U.S. Army and the first-and-only-so-far commanding general of V Corps, has had a strategic effect on the NATO\u2019s alliance\u2019s operational force, and therefore on U.S. and even global security\u2026He is known, respected and admired throughout Europe.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

Prior to Kolasheski\u2019s arrival to V Corps, he served as the commanding general for 1st Infantry Division and Fort Riley, Kansas; deputy chief of staff of U.S. Army Forces Command, Fort Liberty, North Carolina; a Senior Army Fellow with the Council on Foreign Relations in New York City; commander, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry division, Fort Carson, Colorado; Operation Enduring Freedom, Afghanistan; commander, 3rd Squadron, 1st Cavalry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division, Fort Benning, Georgia; and Operation Iraqi Freedom.<\/p>\n

\u201cGen. Jim Rainey summed up [Kolasheski\u2019s] leadership across [his] career,\u201d said McMaster. \u201c\u2019If we believe we are a profession and the three requirements of that are character, competence and commitment, then I do not personally know an officer who better embodies all three in one package.\u2019 John Kolasheski embodied all three during his most recent commands.\u201d<\/p>\n

During the ceremony, Joks, who was V Corps\u2019 deputy commanding general of interoperability during Kolasheski\u2019s command, read letters from the Polish Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defense W\u0142adys\u0142aw Kosiniak-Kamysz, and the Chief of the General Staff for the Polish Armed Forces Gen. Wies\u0142aw Kuku\u0142a.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt has been under [Kolasheski\u2019s] command that we solved the permanent deployment of the V Corps headquarters in Poznan, furthering the security of NATO\u2019s Eastern flank after Russia\u2019s invasion of Ukraine in 2022,\u201d said the Polish Deputy Prime Minister in the letter read by Joks. \u201cAdditionally, [Kolasheski\u2019s] personal, strong engagement led to the establishment of the Flag Officers Exchange Program that has been vital to the enhancement of interoperability between the Polish and American armed forces. [His] service to strengthen the security of Poland and the region will be remembered by the Polish armed forces.\u201d<\/p>\n

In a letter from Kuku\u0142a, he showed appreciation for Kolasheski\u2019s leadership and support. He said, \u201cThe U.S. Army V Corps is a shining example of Polish-American military cooperation\u2026 In those trying times for the security of the alliance, presenting a unified front is of utmost importance.\u201d<\/p>\n

Joks, commander of Polish army\u2019s 2nd Corps, also included his own appreciation for Kolasheski.<\/p>\n

\u201cThank you for your partnership, friendship, mentoring and everything, all you have done to support me to build the Polish warfighting corps,\u201d said Joks. \u201cWe achieved initial operational capability. Now, we are in a good way for full operational capability with your support and your mentorship.\u201d<\/p>\n

Following Joks\u2019 remarks, Kolasheski was presented with the Distinguished Service Medal, multiple awards from the Polish army, the commission of Kentucky Colonel and a certificate of retirement.<\/p>\n

\u201cI depart today with tremendous pride and optimism. The world is dangerous. It is uncertain and the challenges facing us complex, but our nation, our Army, along with our allies and partners represent strength and hope for a better tomorrow,\u201d said Kolasheski. \u201cI am honored to have worn the fabric of this nation for almost 35 years, during such a consequential time and with my family by my side.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cTo my wife of 31 years\u2026 you have devoted your entire life to, not only our family, but to our Army family. Thank you for making every set of government quarters a home. Thank you for understanding the long hours and the days, weeks apart and the frequent moves. I simply cannot thank you enough.\u201d<\/p>\n

His wife, Buffy Kolasheski, was also presented with the Meritorious Public Service Medal and the Commission of Kentucky Colonel for her service and sacrifice.<\/p>\n

Lt. Gen. Kolasheski ended his speech with a quote from his father-in-law, Gen. John F. Forrest.<\/p>\n

\u201cTo those of you still serving\u2026 Deter war by being the best soldiers you can be. And if deterrence fails, restore the peace through quick victory with as little cost in tears and treasures as possible. Remember that you are peacemakers and peacemakers are blessed.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

1 \/ 6 Show Caption + Hide Caption \u2013 2nd Polish Corps Commander Lt. Gen. Adam Joks presents Lt. Gen. John S. Kolasheski with a statue of Tadeusz Ko\u015bciuszko, who V Corps forward headquarters is named after, in Fort Knox, Kentucky, April 26, 2024. Kolasheski retired from the U.S. Army after nearly 35 years of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":159218,"comment_status":"close","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-159216","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/159216","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=159216"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/159216\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":159225,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/159216\/revisions\/159225"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/159218"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=159216"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=159216"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=159216"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}