Promotion celebrates excellence in uniform, school administration
Brig. Gen. Dean Thompson speaks to journalists at Eagles Landing Middle School in McDonough, Georgia on January 25, 2024. He was there to promote the school’s principal, Malik Douglas, to the rank of Lieutenant Colonel in the U.S. Army Reserve. “By virtue of being the principal of a large middle school and now being promoted to Lieutenant Colonel, Malik Douglas has demonstrated that gifted citizen soldiers can enjoy great success in both their military and their civilian careers by serving in U.S. Army Reserve units, such as the 353rd Civil Affairs Command,” said Thompson, commander of the 353rd Civil Affairs Command. “The U.S. Army’s Civil Affairs soldiers, like Lt. Col. Douglas, are the ones to whom the U.S. government entrusts its most complex civil-military missions that require empowering local populations and community-building, which is a similar function to what Dr. Douglas does here at Eagle’s Landing Middle School.” U.S. Army photo by Lt. Col. Brett Walker, Public Affairs Officer for the 353d CACOM