On October 22, 2010 in a ceremony at The Institute of World Politics, IWP student CPT(P) Brian J. Scicluna, USA was promoted to the rank of Major, and LTC Robert M. MacMullen, USA celebrated his retirement. The presiding officer was their shared commanding general, Brigadier General Edward P. Donnelly, Director, Joint and Futures, Office of the Deputy Chief of Staff.
General Donnelly delivered a keynote address on the nature of the promotion process in the Army, reminding all in attendance that promotions are not granted for a job well done, but rather for a job anticipated to be done well, and in a way that exceeds normal expectations.
He described Major Scicluna in just these terms, explaining that he had done an excellent job serving our country in Iraq and continues to be an outstanding officer. General Donnelly also explained that Scicluna is part of Functional Area 59 (FA-59), a small group of officers who serve as the Army’s strategists. He emphasized the fact that, out of the 1.1 million soldiers in the Army – active duty, reserve, National Guard, etc. – there are only about 300 FA-59 strategists.
General Donnelly went on to describe the accomplishments of LTC Robert M. MacMullen, including the fact that, from 2004 to the present, he has been the Strategist Proponent Manager and Branch Chief for all FA-59s. His achievements have included restructuring this group of strategists, and almost doubling the number of officers who are available and trained to serve as FA-59s.
Rev. James Stambaugh, who also serves as the Director of Libraries at IWP, delivered the invocation and the benediction.
Many congratulations to Major Brian Scicluna and LTC Robert M. MacMullen, along with our collective thanks for their service to the Nation and IWP!
Lead photo: From left to right, CPT(P) Scicluna, LTC MacMullen, Dr. John Lenczowski, and BG Donnelly pose prior to the ceremony.
