CBRN School Leader Sean Crockett Promoted To Brigadier General

A familiar face at Fort Leonard Wood is getting a promotion.

Earlier this week, US Army Commandant Sean Crockett was promoted to the rank of Brigadier General.

In a ceremony for Crockett, he talked about this “assignment of a lifetime” and the pride he has for the Fort…“The Crockett clan is honored and humbled. Nat and I appreciate the enduring support and assistance this community has provided our family over the years…Fort Leonard Wood is our Army home, and it’s been my greatest privilege to continue our service here.”

Crockett is the commandant of the Army’s CBRN School and Regiment at Fort Leonard Wood.

***Press Release

FORT LEONARD WOOD, Mo. — Col. Sean Crockett, U.S. Army Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear School commandant, was promoted to brigadier general during a ceremony on Tuesday in Lincoln Hall Auditorium.

The presiding officer for the ceremony was Lt. Gen. Maria Gervais, U.S. Army Training and Doctrine Command deputy commanding general and 28th Chief of Chemical, who thanked the Fort Leonard Wood community for their support and said it was great to be back at “the home of the regiment.”

“The support for what we do here in the military, and what we do in support of our Army, our nation, is just incredible — and it’s unmatched,” she said.

Gervais highlighted some of the attributes that make Crockett an exceptional Army leader.

“We know that he will lead with distinction,” she said. “He has the right traits; he has the right character; and he has the right emotion and passion for serving as a general officer, and leading, what I have said, are the best trained, the best led, the best equipped, the most respected and the most feared Army in this world.”

Gervais said a general officer is “built” during the brigadier general promotion ceremony — which includes the presentation of a general officer flag, belt and pistol — but “the actual building of this general, to get him to this point, happened because of so many people that supported him every single step of the way.”

“All of the experiences that he had, and those that impacted him, personally, developed him into the leader that he is today,” she said.

Crockett, Gervais noted, comes from a family with a history of military service — his grandfather served in World War II, and his father served in the Navy. It was his upbringing, however, that made him the great leader he is today, she said.

“We want to thank you very much for sharing your son with us, and for the great values that you instilled in him, and also the sense of service,” Gervais said to Crockett’s parents at the ceremony.

Promotion to general officer is more than an acknowledgment of one’s past accomplishments, Gervais added.

“It is really the potential; the potential that he has to serve at the highest ranks in our Army,” she said. “He has the character — the personal traits that we desire in our senior leaders.”

After his family — including his wife, Natalie, his daughter, Savannah, and his son, Colin — pinned on his new rank, the new general officer called his family “the reason I do what I do every day,” and thanked everyone who has helped get him to this point. He also explained the moment he knew he would serve in the military — when his grandfather told him the story of being a fighter pilot and getting shot down over Normandy, France, in June 1944.

“He told me that story for the first time when I was 13 years old in Yorba Linda, California, and I knew at that moment that this is what I was going to do,” Crockett said.

A 1995 graduate of Auburn University, in Auburn, Alabama, Crockett received his commission into the Chemical Corps on March 17, 1995. He said he showed up for CBRN training at Fort McClellan, Alabama, three days later, “and I’ve been serving this proud regiment ever since.”

“What a tremendously rewarding experience it has been,” he said, noting his family’s 28 years of service at 18 duty stations.

Crockett called his current position “the assignment of a lifetime, with some of the finest officers, noncommissioned officers, Soldiers, civilians and community members and leaders on the planet.”

“Nat and I appreciate the enduring support and assistance this community has provided our family over the years we have served here,” he said. “As many of you know, Fort Leonard Wood is our Army home, and it has been my greatest privilege to continue our service here at the home of the Maneuver Support Center of Excellence and our CBRN Regiment.”

Of note, Crockett has a bachelor’s degree in Aviation Operations Management and master’s degrees in Business Organizational Security Management and Strategic Studies. He is also a graduate of the Chemical Officer Basic Course, Airborne Course, Chemical Captains Career Course, Combined Arms Services Staff School, Technical Escort Course, the Command and General Staff Officers Course, and the Army War College.

His awards and decorations include the Legion of Merit (with one oak-leaf cluster), Defense Superior Service Medal, Defense Meritorious Service Medal, Meritorious Service Medal (with three oak-leaf clusters), Army Commendation Medal (with two oak-leaf clusters), Army Achievement Medal (with three oak-leaf clusters), Army Superior Unit Award, National Defense Service Medal with Bronze Star, Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal, Global War on Terror Service Medal, Parachutist Badge, and the German Efficiency Badge (Gold). He wears the Multi-National Corps Iraq as his combat patch.

***More about Sean Crockett…..

Colonel Sean Crockett is a 1995 graduate of Auburn University, where he received a Regular Army Commission. He is a graduate of the Chemical Officer Basic Course, Airborne Course, Chemical Captains Career Course, Combined Arms Services Staff School, Technical Escort Course, the Command and General Staff Officers Course (CGSC), and the Army War College. He has completed a Bachelor’s in Aviation Operations Management and Master’s Degrees in Business Organizational Security Management and Strategic Studies.

COL Crockett began his career on staff with the 1st Battalion, 41st Field Artillery, 3d Infantry Division (Mechanized), Fort Stewart, Georgia and as a Platoon Leader and Executive Officer for the 92d Chemical Company, 3rd Infantry Division. He then went to the Soldier Biological and Chemical Command (SBCCOM), Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland where he served as an Aide-de-Camp for the Commanding General. After that assignment, he assumed Command of the Headquarters and Headquarters Company, Technical Escort Unit. COL Crockett then went on to serve on the Division Staff as the Deputy Division Chemical Officer with Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 25th Infantry Division (Light), Schofield Barracks, Hawaii and then transferred to the U.S. Army Pacific (USARPAC) Headquarters, Fort Shafter, Hawaii, where he served an additional 18 months as the Deputy Chief, Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD) Division.

Upon completion of his time in Hawaii, COL Crockett returned to Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland, with an assignment to the newly established 20th Support Command (Chemical, Biological, Radiological and High Yield Explosives or CBRNE), holding multiple positions. COL Crockett completed his tour at Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland, with a deployment in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom where he served as the Deputy J5 Science and Technology Officer and WMD Planner for Combined Joint Task Force Troy in Baghdad, Iraq. Additional assignments include service as a BN XO and S3 at Fort Polk, Louisiana, followed by BDE S3 and DCO at Fort Hood, Texas. At the conclusion of his assignment to Fort Hood, COL Crockett took command of the 23d CBRNE BN at Joint Base Lewis McCord, Washington, and subsequently relocated the battalion to the Republic of Korea in support of 2ID. After command, he conducted tours at the Pentagon and Army War College before arriving at Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri to serve as the Assistant Commandant, U.S. Army Chemical, Biological, Radiological, and Nuclear (CBRN) School and Commander, 3d Chemical Brigade. Following brigade command, COL Crockett served as the Chief of Staff for the United States Security Coordinator in Jerusalem, Israel. After a year in Israel, he served as the Full Dimension Protection (FDB) Division Chief in the Army G8. COL Crockett became the 32nd Chief of Chemical and Commandant of the USACBRNS in June 2021.

His awards and decorations include the Legion of Merit (1-OLC), Defense Superior Service Medal, Defense Meritorious Service Medal, Meritorious Service Medal (3-OLC), Army Commendation Medal (2-OLC), Army Achievement Medal (3-OLC), Army Superior Unit Award, National Defense Service Medal with Bronze Star, Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal, Global War on Terror Service Medal, Parachutist Badge, and the German Efficiency Badge (Gold). He wears the Multi-National Corps Iraq as his Combat Patch.