Courtesy Story
NAS PENSACOLA, Fla. — Aboard Naval Air Station Pensacola, Col (P) Mark E. Black was promoted to Brigadier General during a ceremony hosted by Maj. Gen. Mark T. McQueen, Commanding General, 108th Training Command (IET), on July 22.
Having previously served as the Chief of Staff for the Training Command, Black will now assume the duties as the Deputy Commanding General for the Command.
After completing the Oath of Office, Black remarked “it is an incredible privilege to be able to lead our great soldiers. As an Army, we ultimately have only one mission … to fight and win our nation’s wars. I stand here before you today, feeling very humble, very honored, and extremely blessed, to have been given the opportunity to continue serve.”
Surrounded by family and friends, Black also used the ceremony as an opportunity to publicly thank them for their support, during his military career. “What’s most important today, and I can’t stress this point enough, is that if it wasn’t for everyone that is seated here today…I would not be standing on this stage today,” Black said. “I am so incredibly thankful. For at each stage in my life, there were family members, friends, and colleagues that took care of me and guided me in the right direction.”
Black, a distinguished military graduate of The Citadel, was commissioned as a 2nd Lieutenant of Aviation in 1989. He has served in a variety of command and staff assignments during his more than 28 years of combined active and reserve service. As an Aviation officer, he achieved pilot-in-command status in both attack and scout helicopters and served in Divisional Cavalry Squadrons and other aviation units in CONUS and while deployed overseas. After transitioning from Active Duty to the U.S. Army Reserve, Black served as a Civil Affairs officer in a variety of key assignments with the 350th Civil Affairs Command, based aboard NAS Pensacola, and with the U.S. Army South in support of theater engagement activities throughout South and Central America. He later served as the Battalion Commander for the Warrior Transition Battalion at Fort Hood, TX. However, Black is not new to the initial entry training mission. In addition to having served as Command’s Chief of Staff, he also previously served as the Brigade Commander for 1st Brigade, 95th Training Division (IET), at Fort Sill, OK.
Brig. Gen. Black and his family reside near Austin, Texas. In civilian life, Black is a licensed attorney and has served as career Prosecutor.