IWP 2013 U.S. Army War College Fellow Brian J. Mennes was promoted to the rank of Brigadier General at a ceremony held at the Pentagon on June 5. His next assignment will be overseas in Korea as deputy commanding general for maneuver, 2nd Infantry Division.
BG Mennes graduated from the United States Military Academy, West Point in 1988 and has since served a number of leadership positions at home and abroad. In his 27-year career, BG Mennes has served a total of nine deployments: Panama, Operation Just Cause; the Sinai Desert, United Nations Multinational Force; South Korea; and multiple deployments to Afghanistan and Iraq.
In addition to his completed Fellowship at the Institute and the United Kingdom’s Higher Command and Staff Course, BG Mennes holds a Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering, a Master’s in Military Art and Science from Fort Leavenworth Kansas, degrees from Ranger, Airborne, Pathfinder and Air Assault Schools, and has been awarded the Combat Infantryman’s Badge, three Legions of Merit, five Bronze Star Medals, the NATO Meritorious Service Medal, and the Defense Meritorious Service Medal.
During his Fellowship at IWP, BG Mennes worked on a civilian research paper, “Security Reform beyond the Project on National Security Reform.” He focused on the bureaucratic culture within the United States government and how it defines our ability to address issues abroad. He studied the Project on National Security Reform as well as the Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction and cited his own personal experience in Iraq and Afghanistan to construct an informed argument on how the United States should reform certain bureaucratic cultures.
Top photo: BG Brian Mennes with Haley Ashcom, who worked with him during his fellowship at IWP.
Lower photo: BG Mennes with his family after his promotion.