A ceremony took place at Redstone Arsenal in Alabama on Jan. 9 to mark the change of leadership at U.S. Army Space and Missile Defense Command and the Joint Functional Component Command for Integrated Missile Defense, the U.S. Army website reported Wednesday.
Lt. Gen. Sean Gainey, who most recently served as director of the Counter-Unmanned Aircraft Systems Office and director of fires at the Office of the Army Deputy Chief of Staff G-3/5/7, took charge of USASMDC and JFCC IMD, succeeding Lt. Gen. Daniel Karbler, who had led the organizations since 2019.
Gainey was described by U.S. Army Chief of Staff Gen. Randy George during the ceremony as “exactly the right leader” to address the “substantial” challenges the military branch faces in space, missile defense and high-altitude operations.
George also touted Gainey’s selflessness, expertise and competence, and said that with Gainey as commanding general, “I know that SMDC is in the best possible hands.”
As leader of USASMDC, Gainey said he will work to “realize the Army’s space vision and ensure we maintain a modernized missile defense force while ensuring the health of our forces remains our priority.” And as head of JFCC IMD, Gainey will work to provide, among other things, ballistic missile defense operations support and missile defense plans to U.S. Space Command.