Retired Brig. Gen. Robert E. Windham will be inducted into the Kansas National Guard Officer Candidate School Hall of Fame in a ceremony set for Saturday, Aug. 24, at the Kansas Highway Patrol Academy, 2019 E. Iron Ave., Salina.
Retired Brig. Gen. Robert Windham
The 1 p.m. ceremony will be held in conjunction with the graduation and commissioning ceremony for Officer Candidate School Class 63, hosted by the 235th Regiment in Salina.
Six officer candidates will graduate and be commissioned as second lieutenants during the ceremony. They are Benjamin Harrell, Manhattan; Meghan Hinkley, Overland Park; Heath Knight, Baldwin City; Jorge Morales-Chavez, Garden City; George Nyakundi, Wichita; and Nicholas Taylor, Topeka.
Maj. Gen. Lee Tafanelli, Kansas adjutant general, will be the keynote speaker for the ceremony.
The OCS traditional program consist of a two-week Phase I and 13-month Phase II conducted one weekend a month at the Kansas Regional Training Institute in Salina. Phase III training consist of a two-week tactical leadership course at Joint Base Lewis-McCord, Washington. It includes more than 900 hours of classroom instruction, field training exercises and physical training.
The OCS Hall of Fame was established for the Kansas Army Nati onal Guard Officer Candidate School in 2003, to recognize alumni achieving success in their career. To be eligible, an individual must be a graduate of the Kansas Army National Guard Officer Candidate School or its predecessor, "Kansas National Guard Officer Candidate School;" have distinguished themselves in military, civilian or public service activities; have retired or departed from the military service or passed away, prior to being selected, and must have separated from the military service under honorable conditions. The individual must also meet one of the following criteria for consideration: Awarded the Medal of Honor; killed in action or died in a combat zone; or attained the rank of colonel. Since 2003 the Kansas Army National Guard has inducted 53 soldiers into the OCS Hall of Fame.
Retired Brig. Gen. Robert E. Windham
Brig. Gen. Robert E. Windham is the former assistant adjutant general ' Army, and commander, Kansas Army National Guard. Windham assumed that role in July 2014 and retired in 2016. His previous assignments included assistant division commander, 35th Infantry Division; commander, 235th Regiment; deputy chief of staff for Logistics, Joint Forces Headquarters; commander, Task Force Hurricane, Operation Iraqi Freedom; deputy commander, 130th Field Artillery Brigade; and deputy commander, Task Force Tornado, Operation Iraqi Freedom. He also served in various command positions at the battalion and battery level.
Windham is a 1986 graduate of the Officer Candidate School at the Kansas Military Academy. His military education includes the Communications ' Electronics Staff Officer Course at Fort Sill, Oklahoma; Signal Officer Basic and Advanced Courses at Fort Gordon, Georgia; Combined Arms and Services Staff School and Command and General Staff College at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas; the Joint Command, Control, Communications, Computers and Intelligence Staff and Operations Course at the Joint Forces Staff College, Norfolk, Virginia; and the U.S. Army War College at Carlisle Barracks, Pennsylvania. He also attended the Chief of Staff of the Army's Senior Leader Seminar.
Windham's awards and recognition include the Bronze Star Medal, Meritorious Service Medal with two oak leaf clusters, Army Commendation Medal with oak leaf cluster, Army Reserve Components Achievement Medal with four oak leaf clusters, Iraq Campaign Medal, and the 1st Cavalry Division Order of the Combat Spur.
His civilian education includes completion of the Federal Executive Institute in Charlottesville, Virginia; a Bachelor of Arts in management and human resources; a Master of Arts in telecommunications management; and a Master of Arts in strategic studies.
In his civilian career, he worked for the federal government in a variety of positions, culminating in his appointment as regional director of Network Enterprise Centers for the Midwestern United States.