Brig. Gen. Kurt Hardin. U.S. Army Reserve General Officer was recently honored for decades of service during a retirement ceremony held at the 79th Sustainment Support Command headquarters on the Joint Forces Training Base in Los Alamitos last Saturday, August 6. The honored retiree formerly served as the deputy commanding general of the 79th SSC. Maj. Gen. Mark Palzer, who’s the commanding general of the 79th SSC, hosted the ceremony. Attendees included more than 100 soldiers of the 79thth SSC, active and retired general officers, as well as local and state representatives.
Brig. Gen. Kurt Hardin. U.S. Army Reserve General Officer was recently honored for decades of service during a retirement ceremony held at the 79th Sustainment Support Command headquarters on the Joint Forces Training Base in Los Alamitos last Saturday, August 6. The honored retiree formerly served as the deputy commanding general of the 79th SSC. Maj. Gen. Mark Palzer, who’s the commanding general of the 79th SSC, hosted the ceremony. Attendees included more than 100 soldiers of the 79thth SSC, active and retired general officers, as well as local and state representatives. Set to replace Hardin is Col. Susan Henderson, who currently hold the position of deputy commanding officer with the 1st Theater Sustainment Command. Following this is a biography of Hardin.
Brigadier General Kurt A. Hardin was appointed as the Deputy Commanding General, 79th Sustainment Support Command on September 4, 2014. He was previously assigned as the Division Commander of the 104th Training Division (Leader Training) located on Joint Base Lewis McChord, Washington; Deputy Commanding General for the Army Reserve Support and Accessions, United States Army Cadet Command; and Chief of Staff of the 104th Training Division (Leader Training) located on Joint Base Lewis McChord, Washington.
Hardin graduated from the University of Florida in Gainesville where he received a Bachelor of Science in Finance and was commissioned as an Air Defense Artillery Officer in 1982. Upon receiving his commission as a Second Lieutenant, Hardin served on active duty as an assault fire platoon leader and tactical control officer for Battery C, 6th Battalion, 52nd Air Defense Artillery (Hawk) in Giebelstadt, Germany. While in Giebelstadt, Hardin was a qualified Master Tactical Control Officer, Battery Control Evaluator where he evaluated the readiness of Dutch, German and other US Army Hawk units. He also served as an Assistant Operations Officer for 6th Battalion, 52nd Air Defense Artillery (Hawk) in Wuerzburg, Germany. Upon reassignment to Fort Lewis, WA Hardin served as an Assistant Operations officer for 1st Battalion, 67th Artillery; Commander for Battery A, 1st Battalion, 44th Air Defense Artillery Regiment; Commander for Headquarters and Headquarters Battery, 1st Battalion, 44th Air Defense Artillery Regiment; all within the 9th Infantry Division (Motorized). He subsequently was reassigned to I Corps at Ft Lewis, serving as the Aide de Camp for the Deputy Commanding General.
Hardin has held positions of increasing responsibility in the Army Reserve to include Battalion Operations Officer, 91st Division (Exercise) and Assistant Inspector General, 70th Regional Readiness Command. He joined the 104th Division (Institutional Training) in October 2001 where he served as the Battalion Commander of the 3-414th, Brigade Executive Officer of the 8th Brigade, and Commander of the 1st Brigade (redesignated 2nd Brigade, 95th Division September 2007). Before assuming command of the 104th Training Division (Leader Training), BG Hardin served as its Chief of Staff.
Hardin’s awards and decorations include the Legion of Merit, Meritorious Service Medal with three oak leaf clusters, Army Commendation Medal with three oak leaf clusters, Army Achievement Medal with three oak leaf cluster, Ranger Tab, Parachutist Badge, and Air Assault Badge. Additionally, he was awarded the Ancient Order of Saint Barbara for outstanding contributions as an Air Defender.
Hardin’s military education includes the Air Defense Artillery Officers Basic and Advanced Course, Company/Battalion/Brigade Pre-Command Courses, the U.S. Army Command and General Staff College and the U.S. Army War College. Hardin also has a Master of Strategic Studies degree from the U.S. Army War College.
Hardin is married to the former Krystal Shoop and they live in Olympia, Washington with their daughter, Sabrina. He works in the Washington Military Department, Emergency Management Division as the State Coordinating Officer for Disaster Recovery operations.