SLS 24RS-797 ORIGINAL 2024 Regular Session SENATE RESOLUTION NO. 55 BY SENATOR REESE COMMENDATIONS. Commends David W. Gardner on the occasion of his promotion to Major General of the Unites States Army. 1 A RESOLUTION 2 To commend David W. Gardner on the occasion of his recent promotion to the rank of 3 Major General of the United States Army. 4 WHEREAS, Major General (MG) David W. Gardner is the commander of Fort 5 Johnson and its Joint Readiness Training Center in Vernon Parish, Louisiana; and 6 WHEREAS, he graduated from the United States Military Academy at West Point, 7 New York, in 1994; and 8 WHEREAS, prior to 1998, MG Gardner served as an Infantry Platoon Leader, 9 Mortar Platoon Leader, Headquarters Company Executive Officer, and Battalion Logistics 10 Officer in the 2nd Battalion, 325th Airborne Infantry Regiment in the 82nd Airborne 11 Division; and 12 WHEREAS, upon graduation from the Field Artillery Advanced Course, he was 13 assigned to the 3rd Battalion, 7th Infantry Regiment in the 3rd Infantry Division 14 (Mechanized) where he commanded in Kosovo and in the invasion of Iraq; and 15 WHEREAS, beginning in 2008, MG Gardner served as a Battalion Executive 16 Officer, Brigade Operations Officer, and Brigade Executive Officer in the 504th Parachute 17 Infantry Regiment, 82nd Airborne Division, before assuming command of the 2nd Battalion, 18 505th Parachute Infantry Regiment; and Page 1 of 3 SR NO. 55 SLS 24RS-797 ORIGINAL 1 WHEREAS, he deployed that battalion to Afghanistan in 2012, under the 1st Infantry 2 Division in Regional Command-East; and 3 WHEREAS, MG Gardner subsequently commanded the 2nd Armored Brigade 4 Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division, from 2016 to 2018, and deployed with that command 5 to Europe in support of Atlantic Resolve; and 6 WHEREAS, after commanding the Operations Group, Joint Readiness Training 7 Center from 2018 to 2020 located at Fort Polk (now known as Fort Johnson), Louisiana, MG 8 Gardner was then assigned as the Commanding General of the U.S. Army Operational Test 9 Command located at Fort Hood, Texas, until the summer of 2022; and 10 WHEREAS, MG Gardner's non-troop assignments include: Strategist on the Army 11 Staff; Division Future Operations Lead Planner; Military Assistant to the Commander, 12 International Security and Assistance Force/US Forces, Afghanistan; and, Instructor at the 13 School of Advanced Military Studies; and 14 WHEREAS, MG Gardner holds a bachelor's degree in Physics and masters degrees 15 from Harvard University, National Defense University, and the U.S. Army Command and 16 General Staff College; and 17 WHEREAS, MG Gardner's awards and decorations include the Afghanistan and Iraq 18 Campaign Medals (with six Campaign Stars), Kosovo Campaign Medal, Combat and Expert 19 Infantryman Badges, Ranger Tab, and Master Parachutist Badge; and 20 WHEREAS, he was recently promoted from Brigadier General (one star) to the rank 21 of Major General (two stars) effective on March 3, 2024; and 22 WHEREAS, the rank of Major General is the third highest rank an Army soldier can 23 attain in peacetime; and 24 WHEREAS, MG Gardner's promotion and lifetime of distinguished service to the 25 United States of America, the United States Army, and the state of Louisiana merits 26 recognition, respect, and gratitude of a grateful nation, the citizens of Louisiana, and the 27 Louisiana Senate. 28 THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Senate of the Legislature of Louisiana 29 does hereby commend and congratulate David W. Gardner for his recent promotion from 30 Brigadier General to the rank of Major General of the United States Army. Page 2 of 3 SR NO. 55 SLS 24RS-797 ORIGINAL 1 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a copy of this Resolution be transmitted to 2 Major General David W. Gardner. The original instrument and the following digest, which constitutes no part of the legislative instrument, were prepared by Alan Miller. DIGEST SR 55 Original 2024 Regular Session Reese Commends David W. Gardner for his recent promotion from Brigadier General to the rank of Major General of the U.S. Army. Page 3 of 3