Rebecca Stevens "Becky" Halstead (born 1959) is a former United States Army officer and the first female graduate of West Point to become a general officer. She was the 34th Chief of Ordnance and Commandant of the United States Army Ordnance Center and Schools at Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland.
Early life Halstead was born in Willseyville, New York in 1959, and is a 1977 graduate of Candor High School.Visionary Leadership, by Rebecca S. Halstead, Master's Degree Thesis, U.S. Army Command and General Staff College, 1993Profile, Rebecca S. Halstead, Porcelain on Steel: The Women of West Point's Long Gray Line, undated, accessed January 25, 2011Newspaper article, Candor Grad Promoted to Brigadier General, by Justin Walden, Binghamton, Press & Sun-Bulletin, August 31, 2004Newspaper article, Candor Native Headed to Afghanistan: Soldier thanks pupils for support, by George Basler, Binghamton, Press & Sun-Bulletin, March 9, 2002 She graduated from the United States Military Academy with a Bachelor of Science in 1981 and was a member of the second academy class that included women.Halstead Becomes First Female Grad BG , by Eric S. Bartler, features editor, the Pointer View (weekly newspaper for West Point graduates), Volume 61, Number 35, September 3, 2004Retired Brigadier General Rebecca Halstead to Address Cadets, Community on Leadership , by Matt Kelly, University of Virginia News Site, February 5, 2009, by David Maurer, Charlottesville Daily Progress, February 15, 2009Magazine article, Another Voice to Promote the Profession: Rebecca Halstead, Retired U.S. Army General Officer, Joins the Foundation, Dynamic Chiropractic magazine, Volume 27, Issue 11, May 20, 2009
Early career
When she was assigned to the Ordnance Corps, her early positions included: platoon leader, operations officer and executive officer with the 69th Ordnance Company, 559th Artillery Group in Vicenza, Italy; commander, Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 80th Ordnance Battalion, Fort Lewis, Washington; commander, 63rd Ordnance company, 80th Ordnance Battalion, Fort Lewis, Washington; and Materiel Officer, 80th Ordnance Battalion, Fort Lewis, Washington.Authority Transferred To 80th Ordnance Battalion
Her later assignments included: assignment officer, Ordnance Branch, Total Army Personnel Command, Alexandria, Virginia; aide-de-camp to the commander, Combined Arms Support Command and Fort Lee, Fort Lee, Virginia; support operations officer and battalion executive officer, 526th Forward Support Battalion, 101st Airborne Division, Fort Campbell, Kentucky; logistics staff officer, and assistant executive officer to the U.S. Army's Deputy Chief of Staff for Logistics; commander, 325th Forward Support Battalion, 25th Infantry Division, Schofield Barracks, Hawaii; commander, 10th Mountain Division Support Command (DISCOM), Fort Drum, New York, including duty as logistics staff officer (C-4) for Coalition Task Force Afghanistan during Operation Enduring Freedom; and executive officer to the combatant commander, United States Southern Command, Miami, Florida.Official Army Biography as of October 2005 for Rebecca S. Halstead, U.S. Military Academy Public Affairs OfficeRebecca S. Halstead web page , National Women's History Project web site, 2007 HonoreesFocus, the Newsletter of Academy Women , September, 2006Newspaper article, Female West Point Graduate Gets Star, Takes Command, Fayetteville Observer, September 16, 2004Newspaper article, Female West Point grad promoted to general , by John Machacek, Gannett News Service, September 23, 2004
Later career
In September 2003 Halstead was assigned as Deputy Commander of the 21st Theater Support Command in Germany. In September 2004 she was assigned as commander, the 3rd Corps Support Command (COSCOM), including deployment to Iraq for the Iraq War. In January 2005, she was promoted to brigadier general, the first female graduate of West Point to attain general officer rank.Newspaper article, Boles looks back on his seven months of directing logistical support in Iraq, by Kevin Dougherty, Stars and Stripes, September 3, 2004Magazine article, Breaking the Long Gray Line, by Linda Robinson, US News and World Report, September 5, 2004News release, General Officer Assignments, U.S. Department of Defense, Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense (Public Affairs), No. 337-06, April 20, 2006Newspaper article, West Point Celebrates 30 Years With Women , by Greg Bruno, Hudson Valley Times Herald-record, April 28, 2006Newspaper article, Female General Looks Back On Her Climb, by Rebecca Santana, Associated Press, published in Washington Post, August 13, 2006Newspaper article, Woman is Academy's First Female General, Associated Press, published in Lewiston Sun Journal, August 14, 2006Brigadier general in Germany is first female West Point grad to reach rank, by Marni McEntee, Stars and Stripes, September 1, 2004Newspaper article, West Point Woman Grad Named General, by John Machacek, The Poughkeepsie Journal, September 26, 2004Women and Social Change in America: A Survey of a Century of Progress, by Gerhard Falk, 2009, page 75
In 2006 Halstead was assigned as the Army's Chief of Ordnance and commander, U.S. Army Ordnance Center and Schools at Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland. During her tenure, she took part in the planning for the Army's effort to streamline its Ordnance, Transportation and Supply career fields by creating a single Combined Logistics branch. As part of the Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) initiative, this streamlining included the closing of the Ordnance Center at Aberdeen Proving Ground and relocating it to Fort Lee, Virginia. She retired from the military in June 2008.Newsletter column, From the Chief, by Rebecca S. Halstead, US Army Ordnance Center and Schools newsletter, page 1, January, 2008Newsletter, U.S. Army Ordnance Center and School, Volume 2, Issue 3, Spring, 2008Newspaper article, Collyar becomes 35th Chief of Ordnance , by Roger Steel, APG News, the newspaper of Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland, July 3, 2008
Education Halstead is a graduate of the Army's Ordnance Officer Basic and Officer Advanced Courses. She obtained a Master of Military Art and Science degree from the U.S. Army Command and General Staff College at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, in 1993, and in 2000 she received a Master of Science degree in national resource strategy from the National War College, Fort McNair, Washington, D.C.Press release, U.S. Army Brigadier General Becky Halstead (Retired), Veteran of Iraq and Afghanistan, Speaks Out for Chiropractic Care, The Foundation for Chiropractic Progress, April 30, 2009
Awards and qualification badges Halstead's military decorations include: the Distinguished Service Medal; the Defense Superior Service Medal; two awards of the Legion of Merit; the Bronze Star Medal; five awards of the Meritorious Service Medal; two awards of the Army Commendation Medal; and the Army Achievement Medal. She also earned the Air Assault Badge and the Army Staff Identification Badge.Newspaper article, Former Tier woman to join Army's elite, by Justin Walden, Binghamton Press & Sun-Bulletin, August 27, 2004Speaking Out for Chiropractic: Interview with Brigadier General Becky Halstead (Ret.), by Carl S. Cleveland III, DC, Health Insights Today, Cleveland Chiropractic College, November/December 2010, Volume 3, Issue 6Military Leadership Diversity Commission biography , Rebecca S. Halstead, undated, accessed January 26, 2011Speaker's Biography, Rebecca S. Halstead , Girls Gals Gurus (GGG) Speakers Bureau web site, accessed January 25, 2011
Post-military career After her retirement Halstead was elected President of the U.S. Army Ordnance Corps Association, and joined the Praevius Group, a Virginia-based consulting firm, as Executive Director for Leader Development. She later founded her own consulting firm, Steadfast Leadership. In addition, she is a spokesperson for the Foundation for Chiropractic Progress.The Flagpole , Newsletter of the U.S. Army Women's Foundation, Volume LX, Number 1, Spring 2009U.S. Army Ordnance Corps Association web site , accessed January 26, 2011Magazine article, Memorial Day Media Tour for Foundation Spokesperson General Halstead, Dynamic Chiropractic magazine, Volume 29, Number 2, May 27, 2010Blog article, Becky Halstead: Learning to Say No , by Ben Ryan, Fibro Blog, published by National Fibromyalgia Association, December 14, 2010Home page, BeckyHalstead.com web site, accessed January 22, 2011
Other honors In 2007 Halstead received the National Women’s History Project award for "Generations of Women Moving History Forward."List of Honorees , National Women's History Project, accessed May 19, 2012 In 2011 she became the first woman to have a room named after her at West Point's Thayer Hotel.Room dedication program , Thayer Hotel, accessed May 19, 2012 She is also a 2011 inductee of the Ordnance Corps Hall of Fame. In 2013 she was inducted into the New Jersey Women's Hall of Fame.New Jersey Women’s Hall of Fame, , March 21, 2013, pages 12–13 In 2021, Halstead was inducted into the National Women's Hall of Fame.
See also List of female United States military generals and flag officers
References