Brig. Gen. Alberto Rosende, Army Reserve Staff, Chief of Staff, U.S. Army Reserve Command, was promoted to major general in a ceremony at Marshall Hall, June 20, 2019.

“Promotions are not about what you’ve done. They are about what you are going to do next and we’re betting on his future potential,” said Lt. Gen. Charles D. Luckey, Chief of Army Reserve and Commanding General, U.S. Army Reserve Command. “What he is going to do next is bring together staff synergy to make sure we are freeing up capacity to do other things more effectively and efficiently (moving into the future).”

Rosende has served in the position since August of 2018. Previously, he served as the Assistant to the Deputy Commanding General, where he was responsible for efforts to improve and sustain increased levels of combat readiness across the entire Army Reserve force.

“We picked this leader to take this headquarters to the next level in terms of both effectiveness and efficiency. Most of you know him, you know his background, and performance over the years,” Luckey said.

“Maj. Gen. Rosende is very deserving of this promotion and an example to other leaders of strength and humility,” said Maj. Rosa Bell, Deputy Secretary of the General Staff, “He is genuinely a people person. He is approachable yet firm and engages others in decision-making despite the fact that he has the final approval.”

Before arriving at USARC, Rosende served as the 1st Mission Support Command commanding general at Fort Buchanan, Puerto Rico, where he had mission command of 37 units encompassing over 4,000 U.S. Army Reserve Soldiers and civilians in Puerto Rico. Rosende also served as the Atlantic Division, 75th Training Command, division commander at Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, New Jersey, where he oversaw mission command training for battalion and brigade formations.

After recognizing his immediate family:  wife, Martha; son, Alberto III; father-in-law, Victor Ferrucho; and brother, Chief Warrant Officer 3 Jorge Rosende; extended family, and long-time friends, Rosende highlighted his promotion with two points.

“I get to do the very best thing on the face of the plant and that is be a Soldier and serve with you,” Rosende said. “Hopefully, together, we can continue to drive the organization forward. There isn’t anything that I would want to do than put on this uniform every day and come here to work with all of you that represent the best in the Army Reserve.

Secondly, he highlighted the opening lines of Lee Greenwood’s God Bless the U.S.A.

“You know the words. How does it start?” Rosende asked those in attendance as he started reciting the first few lines.

If tomorrow all the things were gone

I worked for all my life

And I had to start again

With just my children and my wife

I thank my lucky stars

To be living here today

'Cause the flag still stands for freedom

And they can't take that away

“In 1962, my father did exactly that,” Rosende said. “He left a Communist country for the United States that accepted all of us because it was where freedom was. Freedom of thought, freedom of movement, and freedom to raise your children the way you want to. They came here with nothing – zero, zip – one suitcase; that was it. That is not a unique story; it’s just a story. So, the next time you hear that song, I want you to think about it – that you know someone who, for them, it’s true.

“That why I want to do what I do because we need to do this for posterity,” Rosende said. “I’m just glad that I can continue doing it.”

Rosende is one of almost 200,000 Soldiers who serve in America’s Army Reserve, serving on active duty when needed while often maintaining a civilian occupation and working closely with their communities.

In his civilian capacity, Rosende was a consultant in the financial services industry, with more than 27 years of experience in the electronic payments industry. His expertise is in the fraud prevention and risk management fields and where he provided support to financial institutions, processors, and other organizations participating in the electronic payments industry.

“This (promotion) is an easy one for all of us. He is what we refer to as a ‘Tradition Total Army Soldier,’ but also a very effective and professionally rewarding civilian career. No body is better at that than Al Rosende – bringing in those civilian-acquired skills into this team,” Luckey said.

Rosende received his commission in May 1984 through the University of Miami Army ROTC program and was a distinguished military graduate. During his more than 34 years of service, Rosende has commanded and served in multiple staff positions in units at all echelons, including the division and major command levels. Rosende has also deployed twice; his first was to Afghanistan from April 2005 through April 2006 while serving as the Battalion Commander, 391st Combat Engineer Battalion (Light), based in Greenville, South Carolina. He also deployed to Iraq from May 2008 until February 2009 as the Brigade Operations Officer (S3), 926 Engineer Brigade.

Rosende graduated from Engineer Basic and Advance Courses, the Combined Arms Staff Services School, the Command and General Staff Officers Course, and the Industrial College of the Armed Forces (now known as the Eisenhower School). He holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration from Nova Southeastern University, and a Master of Science degree in National Resource Strategy from the National Defense University. He is currently pursuing a doctorate degree at The George Washington University in Executive Leadership, and is currently in the dissertation phase.