Brigadier general joel d. cusker - montana army national guard

Brigadier General Joel D. CuskerDirector of the Joint Staff, Joint Force Headquarters – MontanaBrigadier General Joel D. Cusker is the Director of the Joint Staff, Joint ForceHeadquarters – Montana. He serves as the principle assistant to the Adjutant Generalwith the responsibility to man, train, equip and prepare a force structure consisting ofover 2,800 Citizen-Soldiers and over 1,000 Citizen-Airmen who are capable ofdeploying and accomplishing assigned operations in support of State and Federalmissions. General Cusker monitors, coordinates, synchronizes, procures and allocatesresources (annual budget of over $204M) and prioritizes the effort to ensure theMontana National Guard is ready to deploy mission ready forces. He providesexecutive-level leadership in the management, direction, coordination, supervision andtraining of the primary Joint Staff; J-1 through J-8 as well as the Personal and SpecialStaff. He anticipates events and directs staff efforts to accomplish the vision, mission,intent, operations, events and requirements of the Montana National Guard. As theDirector of the Joint Staff, General Cusker coordinates and synchronizes effort andactions with the United States Army, Air Force, Navy and Marine commands and unitsstationed in the State of Montana.General Cusker enlisted in the Montana Army National Guard in 1978 and served in the163 rd Armored Cavalry Regiment as a cavalry scout. He was commissioned throughOfficer Candidate School in 1981 as the Distinguished Honor Graduate from theMontana Military Academy. As a company grade officer General Cusker was nationallyrecognized with the United States Army MacArthur Leadership Award. He has servedas a cavalry platoon leader, commanded two armor companies, served as the FifthCorps Battle Captain (Germany), commanded the 208 th Regiment and served as theproject officer to establish the State Partnership Program with Kyrgyzstan. Utilizing hisacquired expertise in working with foreign military forces General Cusker volunteeredfor a combat deployment to Afghanistan where he served as the Officer in Charge of theCentral Corps Assistance Group. In this capacity he was instrumental in recruiting,training, equipping, basing and then deploying over 8,000 Soldiers to serve as the firstelement of the Afghanistan National Army. The Central Corps provided combat forcesutilized by Coalition Joint Task Force 180 against insurgents and provided security forthe Loya Jirga. Upon his return from deployment General Cusker was assigned to JointForce Headquarters – Montana where he served as the J-5/7, J-3, and Chief of theJoint Staff. General Cusker’s civilian education includes a Bachelor of Arts from theUniversity of Montana, a Master of Arts in Military Studies from American MilitaryUniversity, and a National Security Fellowship from Harvard University. His militaryeducation includes graduation from the Infantry Brigade Command Course, UnitedStates Army War College (Harvard Fellowship), Advanced Joint Professional MilitaryEducation, Joint Forces Orientation Course and the Joint Task Force CommanderCourse.

EDUCATION:1984 University of Montana, Bachelor of Arts, History, Missoula, Montana1997 American Military University, Master of Arts, Military Studies, Manassas, Virginia2000 Harvard University, National Security Program (United States Army War CollegeFellowship), Cambridge, Massachusetts2006 National Defense University, Joint Forces Staff College, Advanced JointProfessional Military Education, Norfolk, Virginia2008 Joint Forces Staff College, Joint Forces Reserve Orientation Course, Norfolk,VirginiaASSIGNMENTS:1. July 1981 – February 1983, Platoon Leader, Detachment 1, Troop G, 2/163 rdArmored Cavalry Regiment, Hamilton, Montana2. February 1983 – August 1984, Platoon Leader/Detachment Commander,Detachment 1, Troop G, 2/163 rd Armored Cavalry Regiment, Hamilton, Montana3. August 1984 – December 1984, Assistant S-3/Chemical Officer, Headquarters andHeadquarters Troop, 2/163 rd Armored Cavalry Regiment, Kalispell, Montana4. December 1984 – August 1985, Transportation Platoon Leader/DetachmentCommander, Detachment 1, Headquarters and Headquarters Troop, 2/163 rd ArmoredCavalry Regiment, Libby, Montana5. August 1985 – May 1987, Commander, Company H, 2/163 rd Armored CavalryRegiment, Anaconda, Montana6. May 1987 – September 1987, S-3 Air, Headquarters and Headquarters Troop,2/163 rd Armored Cavalry Regiment, Kalispell, Montana7. September 1987 – September 1988, S-2, Headquarters and Headquarters Troop,2/163 rd Armored Cavalry Regiment, Kalispell, Montana8. September 1988 – March 1991, S-1, Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 1-163 rd Armored Brigade, Butte, Montana9. March 1991 – June 1991, Commander, Company A, 1-163 rd Armored Brigade, Dillon,Montana10. June 1991 – August 1992, Assistant S-3 (Air), Headquarters and HeadquartersCompany, 163 rd Armored Brigade, Bozeman, Montana11. August 1992 – October 1992, S-3 (Air), Headquarters and Headquarters Company,163 rd Armored Brigade, Bozeman, Montana12. October 1992 – August 1993, S-3, Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 1-163 rd Armored Brigade, Butte, Montana13. August 1993 – March 1995, Director of Training, Montana Military Academy,Headquarters State Area Readiness Command, Helena, Montana14. March 1995 – February 1997, Quality Coordinator, Headquarters State AreaReadiness Command, Helena, Montana15. February 1997 – July 1997, Military Support Officer to Civil Authorities,Headquarters State Area Readiness Command, Helena, Montana16. July 1997 – June 1999, Commander, 208 th Regiment, Fort Harrison, Montana17. July 1999 – June 2000, Student, United States Army War College, National Security

Fellowship, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts18. June 2000 – November 2002, Executive Officer, 95 th Troop Command, FortHarrison, Montana19. November 2002 – July 2003, G-1, Montana Army National Guard, HeadquartersState Area Readiness Command, Fort Harrison, Montana20. July 2003 – December 2003, Officer In Charge, Central Corps Assistance Group,Headquarters, 2 nd Brigade, 10 th Mountain Division, Coalition Joint Task Force Phoenix,Kabul, Afghanistan21. December 2003 – July 2005, J-5/7, Joint Force Headquarters-Montana, FortHarrison, Montana22. July 2005 – December 2007, J-3, Joint Force Headquarters-Montana, Fort Harrison,Montana23. January 2008 – September 2010, Chief of Staff, Montana Army National Guard, FortHarrison, Montana24. September 2010 – December 2010, Chief of the Joint Staff, Joint ForceHeadquarters-Montana, Fort Harrison, Montana25. December 2010 – Present, Director of the Joint Staff, Joint Force Headquarters-Montana, Fort Harrison, MontanaAWARDS AND DECORATIONS:Bronze Star MedalMeritorious Service Medal (with 1 Silver and 2 Bronze Oak Leaf Clusters)Army Commendation Medal (with 2 Bronze Oak Leaf Clusters)Air Force Commendation MedalArmy Achievement Medal (with 2 Bronze Oak Leaf Clusters)Army Reserve Components Achievement Medal (with 1 Silver and 1 Bronze Oak LeafCluster)National Defense Service Medal (with 1 Bronze Service Star)Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary MedalHumanitarian Service MedalMilitary Outstanding Volunteer Service MedalArmed Forces Reserve Medal (with Gold Ten Year Device)Army Service RibbonArmy Reserve Component Overseas Training RibbonMontana National Guard Distinguished Service Medal (with 1 Bronze Oak Leaf Cluster)Montana National Guard Commendation MedalMontana National Guard Outstanding Unit Award RibbonMontana National Guard Distinguished Recruiting RibbonMontana National Guard Campaign Ribbon (with 4 Bronze Oak Leaf Clusters)Montana National Guard Noble Eagle RibbonMontana National Guard OCONUS Ribbon (with 1 Bronze Oak Leaf Cluster)Montana National Guard Service Ribbon (with 1 Silver Oak Leaf Cluster)Montana National Guard Attendance Ribbon (with 2 Silver Oak Leaf Clusters)Montana National Guard Physical Fitness Ribbon (with 1 Silver Oak Leaf Cluster)Air Assault Badge

EFFECTIVE DATES OF PROMOTION:Second Lieutenant 26 June 1981First Lieutenant 25 June 1984Captain 20 August 1986Major 10 August 1992Lieutenant Colonel 24 September 1997Colonel 9 December 2002Brigadier General 26 January 2011