General officers from same hometown honored as they complete tenure at 1st Armored Division

FORT BLISS, Texas — Brig. Gen. Jared D. Bordwell and Brig. Gen. Rory A. Crooks marked the successful completion of their tenure as deputy commanding generals for 1st Armored Division and Fort Bliss at a retreat ceremony on May 15.

The retreat ceremony is a formal farewell to 1st Armored Division senior leaders and a recognition of their accomplishments during their tenure at the unit.

A military retreat is the symbolic lowering of the flag to mark the end of the duty day. Similarly, the retreat ceremony marks the end of a general’s tour of duty by the lowering and folding the nation’s colors.

This particular ceremony was a unique occurrence since the generals share a close hometown connection. Both Bordwell and Crooks are natives of Spokane, Washington, attended Mead High School, and even commissioned into the U.S. Army through the Washington State University ROTC program.

While it is not uncommon for Soldiers to meet peers from the same town or even the same high school or college, the odds that two Soldiers would share such similar backgrounds, get promoted to brigadier general and then serve in the same unit at the same time is minuscule. To put the odds in perspective, fewer than 1% of all Army officers ever achieve the rank of brigadier general.

Bordwell, who served as the division’s deputy commanding general for support, cited his experience growing up in Spokane as foundational to his military career and the chance to serve with Crooks as remarkable.

“Serving as one of the deputy commanders for 1st Armored Division alongside a fellow graduate from the same high school and college is an incredible, rare occurrence,” said Bordwell. “I credit my upbringing and educational experience in Mead and Pullman as a major contributing factor to my success serving in the Army.”

Similarly, Crooks, who served as the division’s deputy commanding general for operations, credits his hometown environment for a positive upbringing. In particular, Crooks noted that the opportunities Spokane provided to experience the outdoors combined with the local patriotic support of the military ultimately served as his inspiration to join the Army.

“I am thankful for the great schools and hometown values of the Spokane area,” said Crooks. “Despite being gone on active duty since 1994, I have always considered it home.”

Crooks has now served in multiple assignments with Bordwell, and credits serving with soldiers of his caliber as a driving factor for making the Army a career.

In their time at Fort Bliss, both Bordwell and Crooks had a lasting impact on the 1st Armored Div. during a critical period of modernization for the Army.

During his tenure, Bordwell was responsible for the division’s mission command node in Romania, during the rotational deployment to Europe in support of Operation Atlantic Resolve. He also spearheaded the division’s innovation efforts, which established capabilities such as the division’s advanced manufacturing center.

For his part, Crooks served as the home-station mission commander, responsible for all of Fort Bliss operations while the division was forward deployed in Europe. In this position, he oversaw deployment and sustainment operations in support of Joint Task Force – Southern Border and managed critical combat equipment updates for the division with the turn in of legacy platforms and the fielding and training on the latest M1A2SEPv3 Abrams tanks and PIM M109A7 howitzers.

Both Bordwell and Crooks will continue their service to the country in positions of greater responsibility.

Bordwell will serve as the next deputy commanding general for maneuver for the 1st Armored Division’s higher echelon, the Army’s III Armored Corps at Fort Hood, Texas.

Crooks will head to the Pentagon, where he will serve as the Director of Capability Development for the Headquarters Department of the Army G-8.

Their contributions to the division and the Army will continue to make a lasting impact on the way units adapt and transform to meet the future needs of the battlefield.