Guns and military pageantry were a part of Brigadier General Megan P. Tatu’s promotion to the rank of Major General and her official taking over of the 79th Sustainment Support Command on Saturday, Feb. 9 at the Joint Forces Training Base in Los Alamitos. On hand were Los Alamitos Mayor Warren Kusumoto, Councilman Troy Edgar and Congressman Steve Kuykendall.
The ceremony, which saw the official exchange of authority from outgoing Major General William D. Frink, Jr., to the incoming Major General Tatu, was presided over by Lieutenant General Jeffrey W. Talley, Commanding General of the U.S. Army Reserve. Major General Frink, Jr. plans on retiring from service.
The 79th SSC has approximately 20,000 Army Reserve soldiers and civilians across 19 states providing trained, ready, cohesive and well-led sustainment units for worldwide deployment to help meet the Army’s mission in support of the National Military Strategy.
A native of Southern California who resides in Laguna Niguel, Major General Tatu was promoted to the rank of two-star general position, with warrior citizens and civilians in her command in the Army Reserves. She is the first female commanding the 79th SSC.
Major General Tatu graduated from UCLA with her bachelor’s degree in Political Science where she attended on an Army Reserve Officer Training Corps scholarship. Throughout more than 30 years active and reserve service, Tatu commanded from platoon to Division-level duty in Germany, Iraq, and in the United States. In June 2006, she was deployed as 164th Corp Support Group commander in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. She served as a commander in the Pacific 75th Training Command where she was responsible for military training for deployments and other missions.
Her military awards and decorations include two Legion of Merit medals, the Bronze Star medal, and Iraq Campaign medal and Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary medal , to name just a few. She has been married to her husband, Michael, for 30 years and has three grown sons, Glendon, Colin, and Shane. Her middle son, Colin, is a Specialist in the Army, currently serving at Fort Bragg, North Carolina.