LOUISVILLE, Ky. –
U.S. Army Colonel Andrew J. Bates was promoted to brigadier general during a ceremony held at Metro Hall Aug. 7.
Bates is the project management team lead for Louisville Metro Government and has worked for them the last 26 years, so it was fitting that he was promoted at Metro Hall.
For the Kentucky National Guard, he most recently served at the commander of the 38th Infantry Division Artillery.
Craig Greenberg, Louisville's mayor, was on hand and spoke about Bates' service to the country as well as to the city of Louisville.
“Andy Bates has truly distinguished himself,” said Greenburg. “He has built a career over these past 26 years--that you just heard about--parallels very few people in our city and our state or elsewhere.
Twenty-six years of commitment to our city. His tenure with metro government is older than local metro government itself, which is only 20 years old.”
He went on to praise Bates’ service in Jefferson County, Louisville and the country.
“You have helped so many, it is such a challenging life to be in, to be in public service these days, and to do it wearing two hats,” he said. “Knowing the commitment that you have made is such an extra step that you’ve gone. I'm proud to call you my colleague here at Louisville Metro government. I'm fortunate to be an American citizen who has benefited from you and your colleagues’ efforts at home and abroad. Congratulations on your well-deserved promotion.”
Maj. Gen. Haldane B. Lamberton, adjutant general for Kentucky, talked about the uniqueness of Bates’ accomplishment.
“Getting promoted into the military to become a general officer is a very unique, special and rare thing,” said Lamberton. “Even becoming a colonel is a rare and unique accomplishment, but more so to be promoted to general. A past adjutant general, Gen. Davidson, made a statement in a book he wrote called Pathway to Victory, that out of 2,000 full-bird colonels, only 35 ends up becoming generals.”
As if achieving the rank of brigadier general wasn’t unique, Bates is also a graduate of the School of Advanced Military Studies (SAMS), which educates select armed forces, interagency and allied members to become critical and creative thinkers, agile and adaptive leaders, and skilled practitioners in doctrine and operational art. According to Lamberton, Bates is one of only three officers from the Kentucky National Guard to ever get selected for that opportunity.
Bates’ wife, Tiffany, and his father, Dr. John Bates, pinned on his stars to make the promotion official.
Also on hand, his stepson, Brett Ashley, who helped him unsheathe his one-star flag. Brett is also a Louisville Metro employee as a medical first responder.
Generals are given their own personal flag representing their rank and is usually displayed in their office or at ceremonial events.
After receiving his flag, Bates thanked the ones who made it possible to get to this point in his career.
“First and foremost, I must thank the Soldiers and the NCOs and my fellow officers for their hard work and dedication. I know that your efforts made me successful,” Bates said as he addressed those in attendance. “It wasn’t me who were firing rounds down range or driving the thousands of convoy miles; it was the Soldiers and the NCOs that made it happen.”
Bates also thanked his employer for helping him be successful as a National Guardsmen.
“I'm very grateful to the Kentucky National Guard for agreeing to conduct this promotion here in Louisville and to metro government for agreeing to host it,” said Bates. “I wanted to be promoted here, because I could not have succeeded in the National Guard without the great support of my civilian employer. And there are other civilian employers who you know, meet the legal requirements to stay out of trouble with the VA for their National Guard employees. But if my employer had only gone that far, I would not have been able to put forth the time and the effort to get here in the Kentucky National Guard. So, I can't say enough how grateful I am to Louisville Metro government for being an incredibly good military employer.”
Bates’ 33 years of military service has allowed him to has served in numerous command and staff positions to include being the commander of Service Battery and B. Battery, 2/138th Field Artillery Battalion, commander of the 2/138th Field Artillery Battalion, commander of the 138th Field Artillery Brigade, commander of the 38th Infantry Division Artillery, and Kentucky deputy chief of staff for plans, operations, and logistics.
Now he will be taking on a new assignment as the deputy chief of staff for operations in NATO Multinational Corps-Northeast (MNC-NE).