General Paul E. Funk II
Commander, Army Training and Doctrine Command
Paul Edward Funk II was born in 1962 in Fort Hood, Texas. He graduated from Montana State University with an undergraduate degree in speech communications and he was commissioned as an Army officer through ROTC. He earned a Master of Science in Administration from Central Michigan University and has graduated from a number of military advanced educational colleges including Advanced Technology of the University of Texas at Austin.
He has been on assignment in Germany, Fort Hood, Texas, and with the First Infantry Division, known as the Big Red One, at Fort Riley, Kansas. He served as Chief of a Joint Exercise section at the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) in Colorado, and with joint forces in both Afghanistan and Iraq.
Funk has deployed five times and has led soldiers in combat during Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm, twice in Operation Iraqi Freedom, in Operation Enduring Freedom, and in Operation Inherent Resolve, where he was the commanding general of the joint task force for a year. A four-star general, he currently serves as the commanding officer of the Army Training and Doctrine Command, an assignment he assumed in June 2019.
He is married to Elizabeth and they have three grown children.
In the News…
The Army has established the Future Soldiers Preparatory Course, a pilot program that will start next month at Fort Jackson, South Carolina, and will provide education and training to help potential soldiers overcome academic and physical barriers to enlistment.
This program comes at a time when every military branch is facing a significant recruitment struggle due to a variety of factors, including the coronavirus pandemic and a smaller number of people who are eligible to meet the requirements. Only 23% of the public fully meets the Army’s requirements, down from 29% in recent years.
“The Future Soldier Prep Course allows recruits, who meet all other qualifications for enlistment, a path to serve,” said General Paul E. Funk II, commanding general of Training and Doctrine Command. “The young men and women who will participate in this pilot have the desire to improve themselves and want to honorably serve their country. This course is a great way to increase opportunities for them to serve without sacrificing the quality needed across our force.”
Each would-be recruit could be in the program for as many as 90 days, but they will also have the opportunity to pass out of it every three weeks.
