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Brigadier General Christopher W. Stockel

Commanding General

351st Civil Affairs Command

Brigadier General Christopher W. Stockel is the Commanding General of the 351st Civil Affairs Command, Mountain View, California. He commands a force of over 2200 Soldiers and Civilians geographically dispersed in 8 western states, to include Hawaii, and is responsible for strategic through tactical civil affairs support across the U.S. Pacific Command area of responsibility.

Prior to his current assignment, he served as the Deputy Commanding General of the US Army Civil Affairs & Psychological Operations Command (Airborne). The command has more than 13,000 Soldiers and Civilians for the worldwide mission of supporting Combatant Commanders, along with their respective Army Service Component Commands, with theater oriented strategic through tactical level civil affairs and military information support operations. Before this assignment at USACAPOC(A), he was the commander of the 207th Digital Liaison Detachment, 412th Theater Engineer Command. He served as the Chief of Staff for the 352nd Civil Affairs Command with the mission of supporting strategic through tactical civil affairs in support of US Central Command.

BG Stockel has more than 30 years of military service. He received his commission through Officer Candidate School and has attended Infantry Officer Basic and Advanced Courses. BG Stockel has also completed Airborne and Ranger schools, Special Forces Assessment and Selection, Special Forces Detachment Officer Qualification Course, Survival, Escape, Evasion, and Resistance Training Course, Civil Affairs Officer Advanced Course, and the Public Affairs Officer Course.

BG Stockel served as an Operational Detachment Alpha Commander with 12th Special Forces Group (Airborne). As a captain and major he served in various civil affairs and public affairs assignments in the special operations community. He served in Iraq from 2003 to 2004, directing a Civil Military Operations Center (CMOC) and later as the Government Team Chief for the 4th Infantry Division. In 2005, he served as the Public Affairs Officer for the Combined Joint Special Operations Task Force – Arabian Peninsula with Special Operations Command. From 2011 to 2012, BG Stockel served as the CMOC Commander & Director Strategy and Effects – Operational Command Post Third Army/ARCENT, Camp Arifjan, Kuwait.

BG Stockel is a graduate of the Army War College, earning a Master of Science degree in Strategic Studies. His awards and decorations include the Legion of Merit, Bronze Star Medal, Meritorious Service Medal, Joint Service Achievement Medal with one Oak Leaf Cluster, Ranger tab, Special Forces tab, Parachutist tab, and German Parachute Badge.

In his civilian career, BG Stockel works for Federal Express as an operations manager at Newark International Airport. He speaks German and has limited knowledge of Arabic and Spanish, has a Bachelor of Arts in Mathematics and Computer Science from Trenton State College, and studied abroad at the University of Frankfurt during his senior year. He is married to Lisa (Napiorski) Stockel and they live in New Jersey.