Operations chief joins alma mater’s wall of honor

Courtesy Photo | Col. Nicole Heumphreus, operations chief, U.S. Army Security Assistance Command, became the first woman to be inducted into the University of Kentucky’s ROTC Wall of Honor.  

UNITED STATES

04.04.2019

Story by Debra Valine 

U.S. Army Security Assistance Command

Col. Nicole Heumphreus has come a long way since she received her commission in the Army Transportation Corps upon graduation from the University of Kentucky’s ROTC program in 1995.

Since 1995, she has served at the strategic, operational and tactical level. Her 24-year career as an Army officer includes more than 14 years stationed in Germany and four deployments. Heumphreus is the director of operations for the Security Assistance Command.

For her military accomplishments, she was added to the University of Kentucky ROTC Wall of Honor in March.

Heumphreus, who was born in Minnesota and raised at Army installations across Germany and the United States, attended the University of Kentucky from 1992-95 on an ROTC scholarship. While there, she worked as a resident adviser, was on the staff of the Kentucky Kernel and interned at the Lexington Herald Leader. She graduated with a degree in journalism.

“This was an honor because I have seen the impact ROTC programs have on developing Army leaders,” Heumphreus said. “To be recognized by my alma mater in this way also shows future and current cadets how personally invested the program remains with their graduates. I am also indebted to the University of Kentucky, its faculty and ROTC leadership for preparing me for the challenges I would face in the Army. The experiences and training I received made me a better officer.”

“Col. Heumphreus was nominated early last year and graciously accepted; she will be our first female inductee since women were allowed to enter into the program in 1972,” Lt. Col. Tom Krupp, University of Kentucky Army ROTC, said. “Later this year we will also be inducting the very first female graduate of the program, (retired) Col. Diane Potts, class of 1977.”

The Wall of Honor was created to honor those alumni of the University of Kentucky Army ROTC program (who graduated and commissioned from this program), and have served in the Army with exceptional honor, significantly distinguishing themselves throughout their military and subsequent civilian career. The Wall of Honor is located in historic Buell Armory, in the heart of campus, where the accomplishments of inductees are on permanent display in order to honor their legacy and to promote their achievements as paths for current and future cadets to follow.

“Candidates are researched by a cadet search committee and nominated to the cadre for consideration on a case-by-case basis, not annually; the last inductee was in 2016,” Krupp said.

Heumphreus’ many military assignments include leadership positions as deputy director, Central Command Deployment and Distribution Operations Center, Camp Arifjan, Kuwait; battalion commander, 838th Transportation Battalion, Kaiserslautern, Germany; battalion commander, 28th Transportation Battalion, Mannheim, Germany; company commander, 513th Transportation Company, Fort Lewis, Washington; and platoon leader, 68th Transportation Company, Mannheim.

Heumphreus’ staff positions include strategic plans officer, Commanding General’s Initiatives Group, Army Materiel Command, Redstone Arsenal; Support Operations Mobility Branch chief, 3rd Sustainment Command (Expeditionary), Fort Knox, Kentucky; brigade logistics officer, 18th Military Police Brigade, Mannheim; secretary of the general staff, 21st Theater sustainment Command, Kaiserslautern; executive officer to the U.S. Army Europe Logistics, Heidelberg, Germany; operations officer, 44th Corps Support Battalion, Fort Lewis; and personnel officer, adjutant and battalion maintenance officer, 28th Transportation Battalion, Mannheim.

She deployed four times: to Bosnia in support of Operation Joint Endeavor/Forge as a platoon leader; to Iraq for Operation Iraqi Freedom I as a company commander; to Kandahar, Afghanistan, as the Joint Sustainment Command Afghanistan Mobility Branch chief for Operation Enduring Freedom XII/ISAF XV; and to Camp Arifjan, Kuwait for Operations Freedoms Sentinel and Inherent Resolve as the deputy director of the CENTCOM Deployment and Distribution Operations Center.

• Date Taken: 04.04.2019
• Date Posted: 04.04.2019 10:31
• Story ID: 316880
• Location: US