Brigadier General Steven L. Salazar retired in August 2012 after 36 years of distinguished service in the U.S. Army. Steve is a Texan by choice. The son of a retired Army Command Sergeant Major born and raised in the Rio Grande Valley who during his career served in Korea and Vietnam. As an Army brat, Steve moved to military bases throughout the United States and in Africa until upon HS graduation, he enlisted in the Army, later he attended the United States Military Academy graduating in 1982 and was commissioned an Infantry Officer. His career highlights include company command in Germany during the Cold War that coincided with the fall of the Berlin Wall and collapse of the former Soviet Union, later back in Germany at US European Command, Stuttgart he served as operations officer of a combined, multinational effort to capture war criminals indicted by the International Criminal Tribunal – Yugoslavia (ICTY), The Hague, Netherlands in compliance with the Dayton Peace Accords. He then commanded the 1st Battalion, 8th Infantry twenty years after his father had served as CSM of the same battalion. In the early1800s that same battalion had served on the Texas frontier at Fort Martin Scott, near what became Fredericksburg. Steve was at the Army War College in the Advanced Strategic Arts Program on 9/11. He subsequently, assumed command of the 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 3d Infantry Division at Fort Benning, Georgia - his third time serving in the brigade. Assuming command of the brigade in Kuwait as it returned from its historic march to Baghdad, Steve was responsible for redeploying the brigade of over 3000 Soldiers home to reintegrate with their Families, reset and reconstitute their combat readiness and then reorganize to return to Iraq to conduct counter-insurgency operations. The brigade deployed to Iraq in early 2005 for a yearlong combat tour in Diyala province headquartered in Baquba. The brigade partnered with the local government and Iraqi Security Forces to conduct two national elections to include the historic Iraqi Constitutional Referendum. After returning the Sledgehammer brigade home in 2006, he was selected to serve as Commander, Operations Group, the National Training Center. There he transformed the training program to make it current and relevant to operations in Iraq and conducted preemployment Mission Rehearsal Exercises for each brigade combat team deploying to Iraq to support the “Surge”. Upon selection for promotion to Brigadier General, Steve was designated the Assistant Commanding General – Training of Fort Carson, CO for a quick six month before returning to Iraq to assume command of the Coalition Army Advisory Team in Iraq, leading the combined, multinational effort develop a self-sustaining Iraqi Army. His final command was the Joint Multinational Training Command in Europe, where he led training efforts supporting U.S. European and Africa Commands, partnering with 39 nations to advance international security to include preemployment training for international Security Forces – Afghanistan. Following retirement in 2012, Steve served in a variety of capacities in the international Defense and Aerospace industry. He is former President and CEO of the Admiral Nimitz Foundation and National Museum of the Pacific War in Fredericksburg, TX, and has a lifelong passion for history. A dedicated advocate for Soldier, Veteran, and military Family wellbeing, he founded the 360 Military Veterans Partnership in 2016, where he serves as Chairman of the Board. He also contributes to Texas heritage through the Lonestar Heritage Foundation. BG Salazar is a graduate of the U.S. Military Academy, the U.S. Army War College, and the Australian Staff College. His career decorations include multiple Defense Superior Service Medals, Legion of Merit awards, Bronze Stars including for Valor, and he is Airborne, Ranger qualified with a Combat Infantry Badge. He is married to Anna Marie Villalobos of New Waverly, TX. They share a family of four grown children and ten grandchildren.