FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                                                        RELEASE NO. 37-08

ACADEMY CHANGE OF COMMAND CEREMONY – May 6, 2008

WEST POINT, N.Y. – Brig. Gen. Michael S. Linnington has been selected as the 71st Commandant of Cadets at the U.S. Military Academy.  He will assume command from Brig. Gen. Robert L. Caslen, Jr. during a ceremony today, 5 p.m. at Trophy Point.

Brig. Gen. Caslen will move on to command the 25th Infantry Division in Hawaii.

Linnington, a native of Cape May, N.J., is a 1980 graduate of the U.S. Military Academy and holds a Masters in Applied Mathematics from Renssalaer Polytechnic Institute.  

Linnington has served in a wide variety of challenging command and staff positions.  He was a platoon leader, staff officer, aide de camp, and company commander at Fort Ord, Calif., Fort Riley, Kansas and the Berlin Brigade in West Berlin, Germany.  He served on the faculty at West Point, as an Instructor and Executive Officer for the Department of Math Sciences.  He also served as the Brigade S4, Battalion Executive Officer and Brigade Executive Officer for the 187th Infantry Division, Fort Campbell, Ky.  Linnington served as Special Assistant to the Army Chief of Staff and commanded the 3rd Brigade, 101st Airborne Division for both Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom.

He most recently served as the Special Assistant to the Vice Chief of Staff, Army.

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Editor’s Note:  Media wishing to cover this event should contact the Public Affairs Office 845-938-2006.