The commanding general of the Army’s Fort Sill in Oklahoma was relieved of command Tuesday, service officials confirmed to Military.com.
Maj. Gen. Kenneth Kamper, an artillery officer who also commanded the U.S. Army Fires Center of Excellence, was fired after being suspended in February amid allegations he repeatedly skirted hunting rules on base, according to multiple sources familiar with the investigation, though Military.com has not reviewed any documentation involved in the case.
Gen. Gary Brito, commander of the Army’s Training and Doctrine Command, or TRADOC, relieved Kamper “due to loss of trust and confidence in his ability to command,” Army spokesperson Cynthia Smith told Military.com in a statement. The boilerplate reason for the firing is provided to the press for virtually any officer who is relieved of command.
Kamper is awaiting reassignment. He did not immediately return a request for comment.
Fort Sill has been hosting Ukrainian troops training on the Patriot missile system since January, the only such training on U.S. soil. Kamper’s termination is not related to that training and should not have any significant impact on it, sources familiar with the investigation have told Military.com.
“Neither the investigation activities, nor leadership change, will have any impact on the operations at, or missions of, Fort Sill,” Smith said in the statement.
Army firings of general officers are usually meant to be low profile, as opposed to some other services that publicize terminations.
Brig. Gen. Shane Morgan, deputy commander of the base’s field artillery school, will continue to serve as the interim commander until Kamper’s replacement has been selected.
Kamper took over as commander of Fort Sill in February 2020. Before that, he served as deputy commanding general for the III Armored Corps at Fort Cavazos, Texas. He was commissioned in 1989 from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point.
Fort Sill is home to some 20,000 troops and serves as the Army’s home of long-range artillery training, which is expected to become more key to the service in the coming decade as it shifts training and doctrine from combating terrorism to conventional warfare.
— Steve Beynon can be reached at Steve.Beynon@military.com. Follow him on Twitter @StevenBeynon.
