The general in command of the Army’s primary artillery training base was fired Tuesday just over four months after he was suspended amid an Inspector General investigation, the service said Wednesday.
Army Maj. Gen. Kenneth Kamper was fired as the commander of the Army’s Fires Center of Excellence at Fort Sill, Oklahoma, which is home to the Army’s Field Artillery School and Army Air Defense Artillery School. Fort Sill is about 90 miles from Oklahoma City.
In a statement, the Army said Kamper was relieved by Gen. Gary Brito, commanding general of the service’s Training and Doctrine Command, “due to a loss of trust and confidence in his ability to command.”
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The firing makes Kamper’s removal from command permanent. He has been suspended from the role since February during an IG investigation. The Army has not released details of that investigation, though Military.com reported that Kamper may have violated on-base hunting rules.
Army Brig. Gen. Shane Morgan, deputy commander of the Fires Center of Excellence, will continue to serve as the interim commander.
Kamper was commissioned as an artillery officer after graduating from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, New York, in 1989, according to his Army biography. Prior to assuming command at the Fires Center of Excellence, he served as deputy commanding general for the III Armored Corps at Fort Hood, Texas., which was recently renamed Fort Cavazos.
Fort Sill has hosted Ukrainian soldiers training on American artillery since at least January, when the Pentagon announced that between 90 and 100 Ukrainian service members would learn how to use the Patriot air defense system at the Army post.
“Neither the investigation nor the change in leadership will have any impact on the operations or mission at Fort Sill, including the current training of Ukrainian forces on the Patriot missile system, and the suspension was not related to the mission or training of Ukrainian soldiers,” an Army spokesperson said when Kamper was suspended in February.
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