MWSU Alum to Speak at ROTC Commissioning Ceremony

St. Joseph, Mo. – May 9, 2012 – Brig. Gen. Gregory D. Mason, assistant adjutant general of the Missouri National Guard and a Missouri Western alumnus, will be the guest speaker at the Missouri Western State University ROTC Commissioning Ceremony at 10 a.m. Friday, May 11 in the Kemper Recital Hall inside Leah Spratt Hall. Three cadets will be commissioned as officers in the United States Army or Army National Guard.

Brig. Gen. Mason is a 1989 graduate of Missouri Western with a Bachelor of Science in criminal justice. He also holds a Master of Public Affairs degree in public management from Park University, and a Master of Strategic Studies from the U.S. Army War College.

Brig. Gen. Mason has been assistant adjutant general since February 2011. In that role, he assists the adjutant general in the formulation, development and implementation of all programs and policies in the Missouri Army National Guard. He began his military career with the U.S. Army in 1974 as a military policeman. He was commissioned as a second lieutenant through the Kansas Army National Guard Officer Candidate School in June 1987. He has held command leadership positions at the company, battalion and brigade levels. Brig. Gen. Mason served as the senior intelligence officer for the 35^th Engineer Brigade during Operation Iraqi Freedom in 2007-2008.

His military awards include the Bronze Star Medal, the Meritorious Service Medal with two bronze oak leaf clusters, the Army Commendation Medal with one bronze oak leaf cluster, the Army Achievement Medal, the National Defense Service Medal with bronze star, the Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal with one bronze oak leaf cluster and the Iraq Campaign Medal with bronze star device.

Missouri Western State University is a comprehensive regional university providing a blend of traditional liberal arts and professional degree programs. The university offers student-centered, high quality instruction that focuses on experience-based learning, community service, and state-of-the-art technology. Western is located in St. Joseph, Mo., and is committed to the educational, economic, cultural and social development of the region it serves. Visit www.missouriwestern.edu. Missouri Western is an equal opportunity institution.

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