BLACK SOCIAL HISTORY : AFRICAN AMERICAN MAJOR GENERAL BYRON S. BAGBY UNITED STATES ARMY OPERATIONS DIRECTOR ALLIED JOINT FORCES : TOP BLACK STAR : GOES INTO THE " HALL OF GENIUS"

Major General Byron S. Bagby (U.S. Army) has been appointed as the new Operations Director of Allied Joint Force Command Headquarters (JFC HQ) Brunssum.
General Bagby served as U.S. Army Europe's Chief of Staff and Deputy Commanding General of U.S. Army, NATO, Germany before assuming his current post at JFC HQ Brunssum on 2 December.

General Bagby has a master's degree from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. His first assignment was with the 1st Battalion, 73rd Field Artillery of the XVIII Airborne Corps Artillery.
From 1999 until 2002 he served in the Pentagon on the Joint Staff in the Directorate of Strategic Plans and Policy, J5 as Chief, Middle East Division, and as the Assistant Deputy Director for Politico-Military Affairs (Asia-Pacific/Middle East).
From April 2003 until November 2003, he served in Afghanistan as the Director of the Combined Joint Staff for Combined Joint Task Force-180. From October 2006 until July 2008 he served as the Commandant of Joint Forces Staff College in Norfolk, Virginia.
His military education includes the Field Artillery Officers' Basic and Advanced Courses, the Army Command and General Staff College and the U.S. Army War College.
During his 31-year service career, General Bagby has earned the Defense Superior Service Medal with 3 oak leaf clusters, the Legion of Merit with 1 oak leaf cluster, the Bronze Star Medal, the Meritorious Service Medal with 5 oak leaf clusters and the Army Commendation Medal with 3 oak leaf clusters, among several other awards and decorations.

The main responsibility of JFC HQ Brunssum is to oversee the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) mission in Afghanistan by ensuring long-lasting operational success. Other responsibilities include NATO Response Force (NRF), Baltic Air Policing and military cooperation.