United States Army general
Rebecca Stevens "Becky" Halstead (born 1959) is a formerUnited States Army officer and the first female graduate of West Point to become a general officer. She was the34th Chief of Ordnance and Commandant of theUnited States Army Ordnance Center and Schools atAberdeen Proving Ground , Maryland.
Halstead was born in Willseyville, New York in 1959, and is a 1977 graduate ofCandor High School.[ 1] [ 2] [ 3] [ 4] [ 5] United States Military Academy with aBachelor of Science in 1981 and was a member of the second academy class that included women.[ 6] [ 7] [ 8] [ 9]
Lieutenant Colonel Halstead, commander, 325th Forward Support Battalion, 1997 When she was assigned to theOrdnance Corps , her early positions included: platoon leader, operations officer and executive officer with the 69th Ordnance Company, 559th Artillery Group inVicenza , Italy; commander, Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 80th Ordnance Battalion,Fort Lewis , Washington; commander, 63rd Ordnance company, 80th Ordnance Battalion, Fort Lewis,Washington ; and Materiel Officer, 80th Ordnance Battalion, Fort Lewis, Washington.[ 10]
Her later assignments included: assignment officer, Ordnance Branch, Total Army Personnel Command,Alexandria, Virginia ;aide-de-camp to the commander,Combined Arms Support Command andFort Lee , Fort Lee,Virginia ; support operations officer and battalion executive officer, 526th Forward Support Battalion,101st Airborne Division ,Fort Campbell , Kentucky; logistics staff officer, and assistant executive officer to the U.S. Army's Deputy Chief of Staff for Logistics; commander, 325th Forward Support Battalion,25th Infantry Division ,Schofield Barracks , Hawaii; commander,10th Mountain Division Support Command (DISCOM),Fort Drum , New York, including duty as logistics staff officer (C-4) for Coalition Task Force Afghanistan duringOperation Enduring Freedom ; and executive officer to the combatant commander,United States Southern Command ,Miami, Florida .[ 11] [ 12] [ 13] [ 14] [ 15]
Colonel Halstead as deputy commander of 21st Theater Support Command, 2003 Brigadier General Halstead accepts 3rd COSCOM colors during change of command ceremony, 2004 In September 2003 Halstead was assigned as Deputy Commander of the21st Theater Support Command in Germany. In September 2004 she was assigned as commander, the 3rd Corps Support Command (COSCOM), including deployment to Iraq for theIraq War . In January 2005, she was promoted tobrigadier general , the first female graduate of West Point to attaingeneral officer rank.[ 16] [ 17] [ 18] [ 19] [ 20] [ 21] [ 22] [ 23] [ 24]
In 2006 Halstead was assigned as the Army's Chief of Ordnance and commander, U.S. Army Ordnance Center and Schools atAberdeen Proving Ground ,Maryland . During her tenure, she took part in the planning for the Army's effort to streamline its Ordnance, Transportation and Supply career fields by creating a single Combined Logistics branch. As part of theBase Realignment and Closure (BRAC) initiative, this streamlining included the closing of the Ordnance Center at Aberdeen Proving Ground and relocating it toFort Lee , Virginia. She retired from the military in June 2008.[ 25] [ 26] [ 27]
Halstead is a graduate of the Army's Ordnance Officer Basic and Officer Advanced Courses. She obtained a Master of Military Art and Science degree from theU.S. Army Command and General Staff College atFort Leavenworth ,Kansas , in 1993, and in 2000 she received aMaster of Science degree innational resource strategy from theNational War College ,Fort McNair , Washington, D.C.[ 28] [ 29]
Awards and qualification badges [ edit ] Halstead's military decorations include: theDistinguished Service Medal ; theDefense Superior Service Medal ; two awards of theLegion of Merit ; theBronze Star Medal ; five awards of theMeritorious Service Medal ; two awards of theArmy Commendation Medal ; and theArmy Achievement Medal . She also earned theAir Assault Badge and theArmy Staff Identification Badge .[ 30] [ 31] [ 32] [ 33]
Post-military career [ edit ] After her retirement Halstead was elected President of the U.S. Army Ordnance Corps Association, and joined the Praevius Group, a Virginia-based consulting firm, as Executive Director for Leader Development. She later founded her own consulting firm, Steadfast Leadership. In addition, she is a spokesperson for the Foundation for Chiropractic Progress.[ 34] [ 35] [ 36] [ 37] [ 38]
In 2007 Halstead received the National Women’s History Project award for "Generations of Women Moving History Forward."[ 39] Thayer Hotel .[ 40] [ 41] [ 42] National Women's Hall of Fame .[ 43]
^ Visionary Leadership , by Rebecca S. Halstead, Master's Degree Thesis, U.S. Army Command and General Staff College, 1993^ Profile, Rebecca S. Halstead , Porcelain on Steel: The Women of West Point's Long Gray Line, undated, accessed January 25, 2011^ "Candor High School Alumni Newsletter, 2005" . Archived fromthe original on 2006-08-10. Retrieved2009-12-07 .^ Newspaper article, Candor Grad Promoted to Brigadier General , by Justin Walden, Binghamton, Press & Sun-Bulletin, August 31, 2004^ Newspaper article, Candor Native Headed to Afghanistan: Soldier thanks pupils for support , by George Basler, Binghamton, Press & Sun-Bulletin, March 9, 2002^ Halstead Becomes First Female Grad BG Archived 2010-06-22 at theWayback Machine , by Eric S. Bartler, features editor, the Pointer View (weekly newspaper for West Point graduates), Volume 61, Number 35, September 3, 2004^ Retired Brigadier General Rebecca Halstead to Address Cadets, Community on Leadership Archived 2012-08-05 atarchive.today , by Matt Kelly, University of Virginia News Site, February 5, 2009^ Newspaper article, Tall Shoes to Fill , by David Maurer, Charlottesville Daily Progress, February 15, 2009^ Magazine article, Another Voice to Promote the Profession: Rebecca Halstead, Retired U.S. Army General Officer, Joins the Foundation , Dynamic Chiropractic magazine, Volume 27, Issue 11, May 20, 2009^ Authority Transferred To 80th Ordnance Battalion ^ Official Army Biography Archived 2006-10-18 at theWayback Machine as of October 2005 for Rebecca S. Halstead, U.S. Military Academy Public Affairs Office^ Rebecca S. Halstead web page Archived 2007-12-28 at theWayback Machine , National Women's History Project web site, 2007 Honorees^ Focus, the Newsletter of Academy Women Archived 2018-10-27 at theWayback Machine , September, 2006^ Newspaper article, Female West Point Graduate Gets Star, Takes Command , Fayetteville Observer, September 16, 2004^ Newspaper article, Female West Point grad promoted to general Archived 2012-03-20 at theWayback Machine , by John Machacek, Gannett News Service, September 23, 2004^ Newspaper article, Boles looks back on his seven months of directing logistical support in Iraq , by Kevin Dougherty, Stars and Stripes, September 3, 2004^ Magazine article, Breaking the Long Gray Line , by Linda Robinson, US News and World Report, September 5, 2004^ News release, General Officer Assignments , U.S. Department of Defense, Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense (Public Affairs), No. 337-06, April 20, 2006^ Newspaper article, West Point Celebrates 30 Years With Women Archived 2018-10-27 at theWayback Machine , by Greg Bruno, Hudson Valley Times Herald-record, April 28, 2006^ Newspaper article, Female General Looks Back On Her Climb , by Rebecca Santana, Associated Press, published in Washington Post, August 13, 2006^ Newspaper article, Woman is Academy's First Female General , Associated Press, published in Lewiston Sun Journal, August 14, 2006^ Brigadier general in Germany is first female West Point grad to reach rank , by Marni McEntee, Stars and Stripes, September 1, 2004^ Newspaper article, West Point Woman Grad Named General , by John Machacek, The Poughkeepsie Journal, September 26, 2004^ Women and Social Change in America: A Survey of a Century of Progress , by Gerhard Falk, 2009, page 75^ Newsletter column, From the Chief , by Rebecca S. Halstead, US Army Ordnance Center and Schools newsletter, page 1, January, 2008^ Newsletter [dead link ^ Newspaper article, Collyar becomes 35th Chief of Ordnance Archived 2011-07-22 at theWayback Machine , by Roger Steel, APG News, the newspaper of Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland, July 3, 2008^ Press release, U.S. Army Brigadier General Becky Halstead (Retired), Veteran of Iraq and Afghanistan, Speaks Out for Chiropractic Care , The Foundation for Chiropractic Progress, April 30, 2009^ Press release, Brigadier General Rebecca S. Halstead Shares Mission to Continue Serving on Veterans Day , Business Wire, November 06, 2009^ Newspaper article, Former Tier woman to join Army's elite [dead link ^ Speaking Out for Chiropractic: Interview with Brigadier General Becky Halstead (Ret.) , by Carl S. Cleveland III, DC, Health Insights Today, Cleveland Chiropractic College, November/December 2010, Volume 3, Issue 6^ Military Leadership Diversity Commission biography Archived 2010-04-27 at theWayback Machine , Rebecca S. Halstead, undated, accessed January 26, 2011^ Speaker's Biography, Rebecca S. Halstead Archived 2011-03-07 at theWayback Machine , Girls Gals Gurus (GGG) Speakers Bureau web site, accessed January 25, 2011^ The Flagpole Archived 2011-07-25 at theWayback Machine , Newsletter of the U.S. Army Women's Foundation, Volume LX, Number 1, Spring 2009^ U.S. Army Ordnance Corps Association web site Archived 2009-11-12 at theWayback Machine , accessed January 26, 2011^ Magazine article, Memorial Day Media Tour for Foundation Spokesperson General Halstead , Dynamic Chiropractic magazine, Volume 29, Number 2, May 27, 2010^ Blog article, Becky Halstead: Learning to Say No Archived 2011-02-16 at theWayback Machine , by Ben Ryan, Fibro Blog, published by National Fibromyalgia Association, December 14, 2010^ Home page , BeckyHalstead.com web site, accessed January 22, 2011^ List of Honorees Archived 2012-07-30 at theWayback Machine , National Women's History Project, accessed May 19, 2012^ Room dedication program Archived 2018-10-27 at theWayback Machine , Thayer Hotel, accessed May 19, 2012^ "Inductee: Brigadier General Rebecca S. Halstead" .Ordnance Corps Hall of Fame . Ft. Lee, Virginia: US Army Ordnance Corps Association. 2011. Archived fromthe original on 2020-10-29. Retrieved2020-02-26 .^ New Jersey Women’s Hall of Fame,Program of Events, 3rd Induction Ceremony , March 21, 2013, pages 12–13 ^ "Michelle Obama, Mia Hamm chosen for Women's Hall of Fame" . March 8, 2021.
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