Kathleen D. Cole

U.S. Army Garrison Stuttgart Deputy to the Commander

Kathleen Cole has been a leader in installation management for over 28 years in positions of increasing responsibility, both overseas and in the U.S., at the tactical, operational, and strategic levels.

She comes to U.S. Army Garrison Stuttgart following participation in the Army Senior Fellows Program from August 2009 through December 2010. Her last assignment in the program was as Chief, Commander's Action Group, Army Contracting Command, Fort Belvoir, Va.

Prior to that, she was a Senior Strategic Analyst in the Office of the Chief of Staff, Army, Director of the Army Staff, Executive Strategy Group, Washington, DC.

Before assuming her role as an Army Senior Fellow, Ms. Cole served as the Chief, Capabilities and Initiatives Division, Plans Directorate, Headquarters, Army Installation Management Command in Arlington, Va. She was responsible for the development of new enterprise-level capabilities and initiatives aligned with IMCOM, Army and Defense Department strategic priorities. In this capacity, she developed the concept and implementation plan for IMCOM Expeditionary Base Operations, resulting in IMCOM assuming responsibility for base support operations at Soto Cano Air Base, Honduras, and future support responsibility for Area Support Group Kuwait and Qatar.

Prior to that assignment, she was the Deputy Chief, Assistant Chief of Staff for the Installation Management Transformation Office in Arlington, Va. She was responsible for organizational management analysis and design, and the planning for implementation and execution of the restructuring of the Office of the ACSIM, IMCOM Headquarters, Army Environmental Command and the Family and MWR Command, as recommended by the Installation Management Study and the Base Realignment and Closure 2005 law.

Her other assignments include MWR/Family Programs Manager, HQ IMCOM, Arlington, Va.; MWR Contingency Operations Program Manager, HQ U.S. Army Community and Family Support Center, Alexandria, Va.; Director of Community Activities, Task Force Eagle, Tuzla, Bosnia; and progressive management and leadership assignments in Heidelberg, Baumholder, Bad Kreuznach, and Stuttgart, Germany.

Ms. Cole has attended the Senior Executive Fellows Program at Harvard University; Fundamentals of Systems Acquisition Management at the Defense Acquisition University; the Duke Leadership Program, Fuqua School of Business; Fundamentals of Acquisition Management, Defense Acquisition University; IT for the non-IT Executive, Massachusetts Institute of Technology; Implementing Strategy Program, Wharton School of Business, University of Pennsylvania; Building and Leveraging Relationships, Brookings Executive Education; Six Sigma and the Lean Organization; and Sustaining Base Leadership and Management Program.

Her awards and decorations include seven Superior Civilian Service Awards, Order of the White Plume, NATO Medal for Service in Former Yugoslavia, the Armed Forces Civilian Service Medal; Commander's Award for Civilian Service, Achievement Medal for Civilian Service, and a certificate of appreciation from the Office of the Secretary of Defense.

Ms. Cole holds a Master of Science in Strategic Studies from the U.S. Army War College in Carlisle, Pa.; a Master of Arts and Music from Winthrop College in Rock Hill, S.C.; and a Bachelor of Arts and Music from the University of North Carolina in Charlotte, N.C.

She is a member of the Association of the U.S. Army, and the U.S. Army War College Alumni Association.