Photo By Derika Upshaw | Lt. Gen. Kevin D. Admiral, III Armored Corps and Fort Hood commanding general, pins a...... read more read more
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FORT HOOD, TEXAS — III Armored Corps and surrounding community leaders bid farewell to Brig. Gen. Geoffrey Van Epps, III Armored Corps deputy commanding general of maneuver, on June 4 at the corps headquarters at Fort Hood.
“Commanders of all levels can attest that Geoff isn’t the kind of general who sits in his headquarters or sits in his office at his desk,” Lt. Gen. Kevin D. Admiral, III Armored Corps and Fort Hood commanding general, said. “He’s out always making this happen and always trying to take care of our Soldiers and making sure that we have the right war fighting capabilities in this corps and in echelon.”
Admiral said the deputy commanding general of maneuver is a key part of making sure III Armored Corps is ready and phantom lethal.
“I know that we’re saying farewell to a first-rate deputy commander, but Geoff, you made us what we are. You’ve invested your time, your energy and your passion for taking care of Soldiers and all the different formations here,” Admiral expressed.
In his thank you speech, Van Epps reflected on his 29-year career starting as a young lieutenant and leading to the corps level. He thanked the talented leaders and professionals he worked with during his tenure, emphasizing the importance of leadership, mentorship and teamwork in achieving military success.
“I just want to start by recalling the first time I ever saw this massive building where you’re sitting, the corps headquarters, on a TDY (temporary duty) trip from Fort Carson as a young first lieutenant coordinating the deployment to Bosnia with 1st Cav.,” Van Epps said. “I remember looking across the parade field and thinking, ‘I cannot begin to imagine what happens in a corps headquarters.’ But now, 29 years later, after spending a couple of years right up here on the third floor, I have a pretty good idea, and it’s been an incredible privilege to be part of what we do here.”
Van Epps said his most memorable moment at Fort Hood was participating in the Warfighter Exercise, which was a highly resourced, stressful and rigorous training event, second only to combat.
“Those exercises are like going to the Super Bowl for a unit like ours, for a corps headquarters,” he said. “It was a fantastic experience where we were able to bring all of the corps capability to bear in a simulation that really proved that we are the Army’s premier armored formation, and America’s hammer can bring that capability to bear against an adversary anywhere in the world at any time.”
Van Epps’ number one goal as the DCG-M was to make sure the lieutenant general’s priorities were met. He said Admiral came in with his priorities clearly set and he wanted to make sure he made them happen with his connections.
Van Epps said he will miss Fort Hood.
“I think the thing that makes Fort Hood special is the closeness we have with the surrounding communities,” he said. “I’ve been in the Army for 31 years. My wife and I have moved 15 times. We’ve lived all over the Army’s footprint, and I’ve never lived anywhere where the relationship between Fort Hood and the communities that surround it is better, is tighter, is more durable than it is here.”
Van Epps will continue his military career taking command of the Mississippi Valley Division, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, in Vicksburg, Mississippi.
| Date Taken: | 06.11.2026 |
| Date Posted: | 06.18.2026 10:26 |
| Story ID: | 567618 |
| Location: | FORT HOOD, TEXAS, US |
| Web Views: | 1,177 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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